NASHVILLE - The Lipscomb track and field squad completed a successful indoor campaign in late February, but a promising outdoor season was canceled before it even began due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 season started out strong with a pair of meets in Birmingham at the Blazer Invitational and the Vulcan Invite. Between the two meets, the Bisons earned 11 top-10 marks. 

In their first meet in Nashville, Lipscomb put on a show for the hometown audience at the Vanderbilt Invitational by compiling four top-10 marks and setting a number of personal records. 

Jonathan Imes grabbed Bisons the first individual win of 2020 at the Gladstein/Bloomington Invite, taking the 400m with a time of 48.22 seconds. Overall, Lipscomb finished with 13 top-10 spots at the meet. 

The South Carolina Invite was the site for the team’s breakout as the whole, with the Purple and Gold notching two wins, 10 top-five placements, and 16 top-10 placements. Jonathan Schwind broke the school indoor record in the 800m with a first-place time of 1:49.61. Sam Shaylor also grabbed the win in the 5000m with a time of 14:42.86. 

Lipscomb closed out the regular season with a pair of meets: the Samford Bulldog Invite and the Music City Challenge. The Bisons broke four school records over the weekend on the way to 16 top-10 placements. Brent Leber blazed to a program record in the men’s 5000m with a first-place time of 14:01.10. Courtney Brenner set a new women’s 5000m record with a time of 16:19.82 as she finished seventh. Zach Israel broke the 3000m record with a sixth-place finish in 8:09.26, Aislinn McElhaney broke the indoor long jump record with a leap of 5.28, and Ronald Kigen picked up a win in the mile (4:18.44). 

Lipscomb finished off the 2020 campaign, unknowingly, with one of their best meets at the ASUN Indoor Championships in Lynchburg, Virginia. 13 different Bisons turned in All-Conference performances and Lipscomb won five individual titles: 

• Courtney Brenner was voted the 2020 Most Valuable Women’s Performer after winning the individual title in both the 3000m and the 5000m. It was her second consecutive title in the former event and third in a row for the latter event. 
• Jonathan Schwind was the conference champion in both the 800m and the mile. The mile win was his third in a row, and the 800m win was his second straight. 
• Jonathan Imes was the conference champion in the 400m and placed 3rd in the 200m.
• Brent Leber was the conference champion in the 5000m and second place in the 3000m. 
• Lauren Flynt finished second in the 3000m.
• Grace Oetting placed second in the 5000m.
• Maddie Moody, Megan Hyman, Pari Manoogian, and Ayse Allison placed third in the distance medley relay. 
• Imes, Nathan Morgan, Demontae Wilson, and Grant Mason earned third place in the 1600m relay. 

The Bisons were also heavily decorated with All-Academic honors, landing eight honorees on the team: 

• Brenner was named the Women’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second straight year. 
• Flynt and Oetting joined Brenner on the women’s squad. 
• Leber, Mason, Israel, Ahmed Amaar, and Jacob Snyder were voted on the men’s squad, earning five of the 12 spots.

Even if the Bisons were unable to compete in the outdoor season, there was much to celebrate about the 2020 indoor campaign.