Liberty University announced on Apr. 28 that five of its athletes earned all of the Conference USA track and field weekly honors following their performances at the 130th Penn Relays.
The recognition highlights the strong showing by Liberty’s men’s and women’s teams, with student-athletes receiving both individual and freshman awards for their efforts in track and field events. The honors reflect notable achievements in both running and field competitions.
Tahj Brown was named Men’s Track Athlete of the Week as well as Men’s Freshman of the Week after qualifying for the men’s 110 hurdles final at the Penn Relays with a time of 13.81 seconds, which is a Liberty freshman record. Brown currently holds third place in program history, third in Conference USA this season, and is tied for eighth among freshmen nationally at No. 47 overall.
Gilles Ouedraogo received Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honors after winning the triple jump championship section at Penn Relays with a single attempt measuring 52-4.5 feet, setting a new outdoor program record that had stood since 2010. Ouedraogo’s performance also marked the best by any Conference USA jumper since last year, placing him tied for No. 19 on this season’s NCAA outdoor list.
On the women’s side, Allie Zealand was recognized as Women’s Track Athlete of the Week following her victory in the track 5K event with a time of 15:26.38—breaking both a Penn Relays record from 1984 and Liberty’s own decade-old mark. Zealand now leads Conference USA by over fifty seconds this season and ranks eleventh nationally after establishing program records across seven different events.
Sophie Gonzalez earned Women’s Field Athlete of the Week for her runner-up finish in women’s hammer throw (199-7 feet), marking her second consecutive week receiving this honor.
Isabella Frattura was named Women’s Freshman of the Week after finishing third overall—and first among freshmen—in women’s javelin (156-4 feet) at Penn Relays; she has now won three out of six possible weekly freshman awards this season.
Looking ahead, Liberty will compete at The Hill City Twilight meet on Saturday at University of Lynchburg before traveling to Duke Twilight on Sunday.
