HARRISONBURG, Va. --- The ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships are back in the Harrisonburg area for a third straight season, but a facility with just one meet under its belt is set to welcome the league's best athletes. The EMU Track & Field Complex still has a brand new luster to its grounds as Eastern Mennonite University prepares to host the conference championship at its new gem for the first time since 2005.
EMU conducted a very successful inaugural meet at the EMU Heritage Invitational, an outing that saw six of the league's programs join the Royals in competition in EMU's first home meet in three seasons. Still, that leaves seven schools that will see the facility for a first time and help break it in with outstanding competition. The meet is slated for Friday and Saturday, April 25-26. Field events on day one are slated to begin at 12:00 p.m. ET with track with track events kicking off at 4:00 p.m. ET. On Saturday, field events are scheduled for a 10:00 a.m. ET with track races starting at 2:00 p.m. ET. The awards ceremony will follow at approximately 6:00 p.m. ET.
Visit the championships site for links to live streaming video and live results courtesy of Blue Ridge Timing.
It has been a banner season for ODAC outdoor track & field with seven conference records already reset, including six over the past two weeks and in distances of 800-meters or greater on the track.
In terms are national team rankings, Lynchburg's men's program slots fifth in Division III according to the latest ratings published by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Regionally, Lynchburg ranks second in the South Region on the men's side. Washington and Lee and Roanoke slot fourth and fifth, while Bridgewater sites ninth. In the women's regionally table, the Generals are second with Lynchburg fourth and Bridgewater sixth. Roanoke and Virginia Wesleyan are back-to-back in the eighth and ninth positions.
From an athlete's perspective, 12 ODAC stars are ranked 10th or better in various events on the official TFRRS performance charts. We break those down below.
- Men's 100m Dash
- Jahmal Jones, FC: 2nd at 0:10.27
- Brady Fowler, RC: 5th at 0:10.35
- Tristan Wright, LYN: 8th at 0:10.42
- Men's 200m Dash
- Jahmal Jones, FC: 8th at 0:21.11
- Brady Fowler, RC: 10th at 0:21.20
- Men's 800m Run
- Tor Hotung-Davidsen, LYN: 1st at 1:48.47 (ODAC Record)
- Sam Llaneza, LYN: 1:50.13
- Men's 1500m Run
- Tor Hotung-Davidsen, LYN: 1st at 3:42.12 (ODAC Record)
- Sam Llaneza, LYN: 2nd at 3:42.97
- Chasen Hunt, LYN: 7th at 3:45.07
- Men's 5K Run
- Chasen Hunt, LYN: 1st at 13:41.96 (D3 Record)
- Men's 10K Run
- Keaton Rush, WLU: 7th at 29:37.51 (ODAC Record)
- Women's 10K Run
- Allison Dell, LYN: 6th at 34:57.06 (ODAC Record)
- Women's 400m Hurdles
- Amanda Romano, WLU: 8th at 1:01.94
- Men's 3K Steeplechase
- Cooper Hurst, LYN: 10th at 9:01.76 (ODAC Record)
- Men's High Jump
- Jamarcus Brown, LYN: 5th at 2.06m
- Women's Triple Jump
- Kacey Kelly, LYN: 9th at 11.99m