Course records set in Deep Hollow Half Marathon, first of five races in Liberty Mountain Trail Series 

New men’s and women’s time standards were established at Saturday’s 17th annual Deep Hollow Half Marathon, the first of five races in the Liberty Mountain Trail Series hosted throughout the academic year by Liberty University’s Hydaway Outdoor Center.

Preston Wethington, 19, from Anchorage, Alaska, held off Flames freshman triathlete Alex Schimmel by three seconds to finish first overall in 1 hour, 31 minutes, 25 seconds while Sawyer Magnett, 22, a senior from Prescott, Ariz., completed the 13.1-mile course fourth overall and first among women by nearly 20 minutes in a course record time of 1:41:50.

Among the other participants were Liberty Women’s Soccer Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer, who won the master’s division and finished ninth overall in 1:54:44, and Triathlon Head Coach Heather Gollnick, who placed third among women in 2:02:12.

A total of 212 runners entered either the half marathon, which featured beautiful creek-side and ridge-top stretches, or 5K options, with a pair of 18-year-olds winning that 3.1-mile out-and-back race — Eddie Cromwell from Lake Orion, Mich., in 18:41, and Madison Martin from Appomattox, Va., in 23:33.

Complete results are available online.

“We had a great time with perfect conditions, perfect temperatures, a light breeze, but not too bad with the sun shining brightly,” said Katy (Ward) Clay (’21), who started as Liberty’s Director of Outdoor Recreation in September.

Previously, Clay served under Mike Ellsworth for seven years, the first four while pursuing her B.S. in Physical Education and Health.

“I am excited,” she added. “I was set up with a very good foundation and good example from Mike (Ellsworth). Now, I’ve just got to continue to do my best to grow it.”

She was pleased with the turnout and hopes to see even better numbers for the Nov. 11 Valley View Mike Donahue Memorial 5 Miler, appropriately held on Veteran’s Day.

“(The Deep Hollow registration) was a little lower than past years, but we expected that as most years it’s been run over Homecoming Weekend,” she said. “We would love to have as many people as we can out here. It’s a pretty cool opportunity, and we are blessed to be able to offer the series to the student population. I am just excited for the runners to get rolling and Deep Hollow was a great start.”

She said those who enter all five events in the series are recognized with an award at the completion of the series, which also includes the Dec. 2 Reindeer Run 2 Miler, the Feb. 3 Arctic 5K, and the March 2 King of the Mountain, a 1-mile race starting and ending at the Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre that features more than 1,000 feet of elevation change.

Clay has a team of nine or 10 staff members helping her to set up and manage each of the five races, including running six aid stations along the half marathon course. The series is sponsored by Liberty’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 890, which provides an additional 20 volunteers, with another 10-15 students helping out to fulfill Community Service (CSER) hours.

In her new role as Director of Outdoor Recreation, Clay is responsible for the coordination of dozens of Outdoor Adventure trips and a variety of events held at the Hydaway Outdoor Center as well as overseeing the facility in general and the administrative side of hiring and training the staff.

“I work with a really great team, and our staff are equipped to do all they have to do to provide an awesome experience for all who visit our facilities,” she said, noting that the center offers a variety of watercraft (canoes, kayaks, and stand-up paddleboards) for students as well as faculty and staff use on Hydaway Lake, as well as a beach, water slide, high ropes challenge course, ziplines, and campsites. “We try to make sure everybody leaves happier than they came.”

Over next month’s Homecoming Weekend, Outdoor Recreation will host a Fishing Fest on Nov. 4 at Hydaway Lake, which will be stocked with trout. Visitors are recommended to bring their own equipment, with limited poles and lures available for rent. Fishing will be free for those with licenses, with participants permitted to keep up to five trout.