The Lynchburg indoor track & field teams returned to competition at the Liberty Open, achieving five top-10 finishes against opponents from all NCAA divisions.
Strong Performances Across Events
On Friday night, Betsy Mohnkern ran 9.00 seconds in the 60m hurdle prelims, placing 10th and narrowly missing the finals cutoff. Meanwhile, Allison Bobst took second in the women’s pole vault lower section, clearing 11′ 1¾” (3.40m). Julian Powell secured third in the men’s pole vault lower section with a 14′ 1¼” (4.30m) mark.
Freshman Ryan Warner made an impressive debut in the men’s 1000m, finishing fifth with a time of 2:32.27—his first time ever competing in the event at any level.
Weekend Highlights and Key Results
Saturday saw more strong showings. Jaren Lee cleared 6′ 5″ (1.96m) in the men’s high jump to secure ninth place. Hannah Edwards ran her first collegiate 400m race in 59.27 seconds, placing 18th. Georgie Lanham closed out the day with a 21-second personal best in the women’s 3000m, clocking 11:02.81 for 29th place out of 78 competitors.
Several key athletes took the weekend off to rest ahead of an intense three-week push leading to the 2025 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Indoor Championships at Roanoke College. Next weekend, Lynchburg athletes will split between Boston University and Roanoke College, aiming to solidify ODAC and NCAA qualifying marks.
Looking Ahead: NCAA Qualifiers & DMR Title Defense
Lynchburg’s distance squad will compete in the Valentine Invitational at Boston University, entering two distance-medley relay (DMR) teams. The men’s DMR team is aiming to defend their national title after last year’s record-breaking 9:47.17 performance at the NCAA Championships.
The Valentine Invitational runs from Friday, February 14, to Saturday, February 15, while Roanoke College hosts the Joe LaRocco Invitational on February 15.
