It was a return to dual glory for Washington and Lee last season with the Generals hoisting both ODAC trophies for the first time since 2019. WLU has plenty of experience with that feat with the Generals' 2019 sweep capping a five-season run of dual championships from 2015 through 2019.

• Women's Championship: it was a runaway for WLU in the women's standings with the Generals' five scoring runners placing first, second, fifth, sixth, and seventh to accumulate just 21 points. In fact, Washington and Lee saw 10 harriers finish their 6K runs within the top-15 places including spots five through 10. Lynchburg finished second, 47 points behind the Generals. WLU's Olivia Warr claimed her second straight individual championship at 21:39.8 with teammate Lydia Harvey stopping watches at 22:06.4. Both of those times eclipsed the previous Bridgewater College course record of 22:21.9 set by former EMU star (and Amherst College head coach) Hannah Chapell-Dick.
• Men's Championship: the standings were a bit tighter on the men's side of the ledger with Washington and Lee posting a six-point victory over Lynchburg to snap the Hornets' four-run run of trophies. WLU finished with 27 points powered by Sam Daunt and Robert Cooper finishing the 8K race first and second at 25:36.9 and 25:37.1. Both of those times also set new BC course records, surpassing the 25:42.6-mark set by former Roanoke College standout Harrison Toney in 2015. The top-six Generals crossed the finish line among the first 12 runners with five Lynchburg runners and Roanoke rookie Nathaniel Orban completing that group.

Two weeks after setting records on the Bridgewater College course at the ODAC Championships, conference runners shined again at the Division III Region IV Championships hosted by Roanoke College at Green Hill Park in Salem, site of several ODAC championship events.

ODAC runners claimed both individual championships beginning with Lynchburg second-year star Alex Jordan claiming the men's title by 17 seconds at 24:15.2. Washington and Lee star Olivia Warr crossed the line in 21:00.7 with teammate Lydia Harvey again finishing second with a personal-best 6K time of 21:36.40.

Washington and Lee and Lynchburg finished first and second in the men's team standings at 39 and 57 points, respectively. Roanoke was the next closest ODAC competitor in the men's table in seventh with 216 markers.

The Generals finished second to Emory University by 15 tallies with 67 points. Lynchburg chimed in fifth at 182 markers.

The ODAC was well-represented in Spartanburg, S.C., at the Division III Cross Country Championships with Washington and Lee representing the league on both sides of the ledger – men's team as the automatic qualifier after winning the regional championship and the women's team as an at-large pick by the Division III Cross Country Championship Committee – and Lynchburg securing an at-large selection to the men's field.

• Team Round-Up: Washington and Lee women's team placed 15th with 438 points, while the Generals' men's program established its first-ever top-20 showing with a 20th-place finish at 486 markers; Lynchburg's men placed 26th at 613 points
• Olivia Warr: the ODAC's two-time women's champion placed fourth overall with a time of 21:14.9; this marked her second-straight top-10 showing at the Division III Championships
  • Six ODAC runners – Ken Layman (EMU), Angus McBryde (WLU), Gregg Cavaliere (x2)(LYN), Ricky Flynn (LYN), Josephine Schaeffer (x2)(WLU), Olivia Warr (x2)(WLU) – have accounted for the nine top-10 national meet finishes in ODAC history
  • Warr's fourth-place showing in 2025 is the best in ODAC women's cross country history and second overall behind the national championship won by Ricky Flynn in 2009
• WLU Women's Lineup
  • #872 Olivia Warr -- 4th (21:14.9)
  • #869 Lydia Harvey -- 50th (22:10.1)
  • #864 Reese Brown -- 140th (23:06.7)
  • #871 Eve Spencer -- 188th (23:23.1)
  • #867 Josie Engle -- 225th (23:45.9)
  • #866 Adelaide Ellis -- 260th (24:23.3)
  • #870 Maddy Morgan -- 283rd (25:16.4)
• LYN Men's Lineup
  • #188 Jonathan Cobb -- 88th (25:13.9)
  • #189 Alex Jordan -- 112th (25:24.6)
  • #196 Randy White -- 193rd (25:57.2)
  • #194 Cameron Sidebotham -- 211th (26:06.4)
  • #195 Jack Weddle -- 217th (26:08.2)
  • #192 Aidan Riggle -- 273rd (27:02.2)
  • #191 Alex Paciello -- 280th (27:12.0)
• WLU Men's Lineup
  • #334 Keaton Rush -- 69th (24:59.9)
  • #328 Sam Daunt -- 70th (25:01.1)
  • #330 Thomas Franklin -- 138th (25:36.5)
  • #329 William Dunaway -- 144th (25:38.7)
  • #331 Jackson Kodenski -- 224th (26:11.5)
  • #326 Wyatt Benjamin -- 288th (27:34.2)
  • #327 Robert Cooper -- 291st (30:43.2)

• The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its annual preseason regional and national rankings on 8/25 and 8/26, respectively.
• Women's Rankings
  • Regional Poll: While Emory University opens as the region's favorite thanks to the return of 6-of-7 top runners from last year's regional championship squad, Washington and Lee is a close second powered by the best 1-2 punch in Olivia Warr and Lydia Harvey, both of whom finished first and second at last year's regionals; Lynchburg slots fifth in the regional table to hold-serve on their finishing position from 2025; Shenandoah climbs two spots into eighth in the preseason rankings
  • National Poll: Washington and Lee is the lone ODAC squad to feature in the women's national poll with the Generals one tick off their No. 15 finishing position with a 16th-place selection in the preseason rankings
    • New York University is a unanimous favorite to repeat as national championship this year with the Violets picking up all 10 first place votes; that was probably a pretty easy decision with NYU returning four All-Americans
• Men's Rankings
  • Regional Poll: ODAC teams account for four of the 10 teams ranked in the South Region; Washington and Lee is the favorite at No. 1 with Lynchburg close behind in second; that's where they both finished last season, while Roanoke moves up to fourth in the preseason after closing 2025 in seventh position; Shenandoah makes a bigger leap into ninth place from a 14th-position finish last year
  • National Poll: South Region favorite Washington and Lee opens in 12th position following last year's program-best 20th-place showing at the Division III Championships; Lynchburg slots 24th, two spots north of the Hornets' 26th-place showing at the natties
    • Two-time defending champion Wisconsin-La Crosse tops the national chart, but two other squads – Johns Hopkins University (2nd) and New York University (3rd) – earned first place votes

• The ODAC's coaches added a third All-ODAC Team prior to last year's championships given how strong the league's runners have become
  • Those placing 1-7 earn All-ODAC First Team honors
  • Those placing 8-14 earn All-ODAC Second Team laurels
  • Those placing 15-21 earn All-ODAC Third Team distinction
• Seven schools saw runners earn All-ODAC status in 2025 with six featuring at least one returner
  • Washington and Lee and two-time reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Michael Dager boast nine of their 11 All-ODAC runners from 2025 including 1st-2nd place finishers Olivia Warr and Lydia Harvey plus Maddy Morgan and Reese Brown as fellow first team finishers; Warr was the ODAC Runner of the Year, while Harvey doubled as the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Josie Engle, Adelaide Ellis and Amelia Weenig placed eighth through 10th and were within 17 seconds of Brown for that final first team spot
  • Batten, Bridgewater, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Shenandoah feature one All-ODAC returner each highlighted BC's Olivia Morra as the reigning ODAC Rookie of the Year and SU's Madison Chorney, who joined Morra as first team honorees

• The ODAC's coaches added a third All-ODAC Team prior to last year's championships given how strong the league's runners have become
  • Those placing 1-7 earn All-ODAC First Team honors
  • Those placing 8-14 earn All-ODAC Second Team laurels
  • Those placing 15-21 earn All-ODAC Third Team distinction
• A total of 15 All-ODAC runners are back for another chance at glory in 2026; three schools were represented on last year's lists and all three feature multiple returners
  • Washington and Lee and reigning ODAC Coach of the Year Brandon Spalding welcome back 6-of-8 All-ODAC including two first teamers in 1st-2nd place finishers Sam Daunt  and Robert Cooper
  • Lynchburg features 5-of-9 All-ODAC finishers powered by first team qualifier Randy White
  • Roanoke enjoys the return of all four of its All-ODAC runners including ODAC Rookie of the Year Nathaniel Orban

• ODAC teams feature a robust schedule of events that includes several high profile races to gauge league talent and prepare for postseason events
• The schedule opens on Tuesday, September 1 with Bridgewater hosting its annual Eagle Cross Country Challenge; the majority of the league's squads are active by Labor Day Weekend at a series of events including EMU"s Heritage XC Invitational
• Shenandoah hosts its Twilight Open the following weekend and is again active hosting with the ODAC Preview on September 19
• Lynchburg also hosts the South Regional Preview that weekend
• Several league squads head to the popular Paul Short Run and Richmond Invitational on September 18, while Lynchburg and WLU will gauge their status on October 3 at the Running of the Cows pre-national meet in Northfield, Minn.
• October 17 is a Saturday full of strong events with Roanoke hosting the South Region Showdown and several schools heading to the Aubrey Shenk Invitational, Connecticut College Invitational, and Augustana Interregional Invitational
• The ODAC Championship will be hosted by Shenandoah University at its Kernstown Battlefield course on Halloween Saturday (10/31); the women compete before the men at 10:00 a.m. ET
• Two weeks later (11/14), Lynchburg is the host of the Region IV Championships at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va.
• Those that qualify from the regionals will head to the Bill Huyck Championship Course in Northfield, Minn. for the Division III Cross Country Championships on November 21; Carleton College will serve as host for the event