BRIDGEWATER, Va. --- For the eight time in league history, the ODAC Cross Country Championships will feature at Bridgewater College on Saturday, November 1 with the custom course lining the outskirts of the Harrisonburg-area campus. The Eagles last served as hosts of the conference meet in 2021.
Competition is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. ET with the men's eight-kilometer race followed by the women's six-kilometer event at 11:00 a.m. ET. Timing will be provided by Blue Ridge Timing and posted to the results site at several intervals throughout the race as well as at the conclusion of each competition. The conference is also planning a robust multi-camera stream via the ODAC's platform with FloCollege.
For the first time since 2012, two different conference schools hoisted team trophies following the 2024 championship at Green Hill Park in Salem. The University of Lynchburg enjoyed its fourth straight men's championship, while Washington and Lee University's women's squad lifted its first piece of league hardware since winning the fifth of five straight championships in 2019. Saturday's outcome snaps a decade-long streak that saw one school win both conference titles – Bridgewater in 2013 and 2014, WLU from 2015-19, and Lynchburg from 2021-23.
The Hornets streak of winning both individual championships also came to an end at three straight seasons, but not entirely. Chasen Hunt highlighted Lynchburg's effort in winning the men's individual gold, but it was WLU's Olivia Warr that proved streak-breaker in claiming the women's individual title.
Entering the weekend, Washington and Lee is the clear favorite to repeat as the women's team champion. The Generals are ranked 14th in Division III by the USTFCCCA, the only ODAC women's program in the top-30. WLU tops the South Region rankings with Lynchburg slotted fifth and Bridgewater capping the 10-team list.
All-ODAC women's awards will look very different from last season. Only three runners return from last year's first and second teams of 14 standouts. Additionally, the conference will honor a third all-conference team of seven runners for the first time this season.
Warr leads the trio of returning All-ODAC runners with Lynchburg's Adelynn Carpenter joining her as a former first team qualifier and Generals' teammate Lydia Harvey earning a second team spot last year. Warr has enjoyed a stellar junior season, twice placing well in strong fields at national meets including a collegiate-best 6K time (20:40.0) in her most recent finish at the Connecticut College Invitational. That time is nearly two minutes faster than Harvey's second place mark (21:52.7).
The all-conference picture is a little different on the men's side. We will have a new individual champion following the graduation of Hunt. Washington and Lee features the two returning first team runners in Keaton Rush and Robert Cooper. Four of the five second team standouts ready for another start don Lynchburg colors -- Alex Jordan, Dylan McGraw, Aidan Riggle, and Randy White. The remaining second-team returner is WLU's Thomas Franklin.
Jordan owns the top 8K time (24:32.1) in the ODAC season with Cooper (24:49.30) and WLU teammate Sam Daunt (24:49.7) not far off. Lynchburg's Alex Paciello comes in as the hottest runner following his collegiate-best time (24:55.0) at the Connecticut College Invitational.
Both Washington and Lee and Lynchburg are ranked on the USTFCCCA's men's chart. The Generals are slotted 18th in the country, while the Hornets sit 23rd on the 30-team list. Both squads top the South Region rankings with Roanoke College ranking fifth in the 10-team table.
Those looking to attend the ODAC Cross Country Championships should go to the ODAC's exclusive ticketing partner Hometown Ticketing to get your entry pass to the championships. Admission is $10 per car.
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