Hornets Sweep First Place Votes, Followed by BC and W&L

FOREST, Va. --- Lynchburg College received all seven first place votes on the way to 49 total points in the 2011 Men’s Indoor Track Coaches’ Poll.  The Hornets stand 11 points clear of second position Bridgewater College, which chimed in with 38 points.  Washington and Lee University followed in third place with 32 tallies.

The Hornet track programs will be under new leadership this winter and spring as former LC All-American, Doug Thomasey, slides into the lead chair.  Former head coach, Dr. Jack Toms, stepped down following the 2010 outdoor season, but remains at LC as the athletic director.

Lynchburg is faced with the task of replacing multiple All-American and 2010 ODAC Track Athlete of the Year, Ricky Flynn, but Coach Thomasey will have plenty of seasoned athletes to turn to in his first season.  James Bell, the 2010 ODAC Indoor Athlete of the Meet, competed in three events at the ODAC Championships, winning the high jump (6-06.75 feet) and the pole vault (15-05.00 feet).  The junior also placed fourth in the 55-meter hurdles (8.20 sec.).  Junior Evan Ellison won both the 55-meter (6.47 sec.) and 200-meter (22.79 sec.) dashes.  Senior thrower John Michael Pavia placed second in the weight throw (50-10.25 feet) and third in the shot put (46-0.75 feet).

Bridgewater features several athletes that performed well at the 2010 ODAC meet.  Sophomore Jacob Kroko posted the Eagles’ lone event victory after winning the shot put (47-3.75 feet), paving the way for his ODAC Rookie of the Year honor.  He also placed fourth in the weight throw (46-0.75 feet).  Senior Leigh Bradley took home a pair of second place finishes in the high jump (6-4.75 feet) and triple jump (44-5.5 feet).  Sophomore Dalton Slagle did the same in the 55-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 8.05 seconds.

Several other standout performers throughout the conference are set for solid 2011 seasons.  Washington and Lee will look to see the continued improvement of juniors Tyler Grant and Matt Gossett.  Grant finished sixth in the 400-meter dash (52.84) and eighth in the 55-meter hurdles (8.32).  Gossett earned a ninth place showing in the 800-meter run (2:05.62).

Virginia Wesleyan will look to 2010 South/Southeast Region cross country champion, Sean Whitson, to lead the charge from the distant corps.  He won the 5,000-meter run at the 2010 indoor meet in 15:28.60.  His time bested that of Guilford’s Derick Kosgei (15:33.34), who returns for another season in Greensboro.  The junior also won the 2010 ODAC cross country championship.  He’ll be joined by junior Quan Parker, who finished second in the long jump (21-6.25 feet), seventh in 55-meter dash (6.79) and eighth in the 200-meter dash (24.17).

Roanoke, one of several programs to graduate a strong senior class in 2010, will look to sophomore Jed Curtis to continue his rise in the ODAC ranks.  He placed third in both the 55-meter dash (8.19) and the high jump (6-2.75 feet).  He’ll be joined by junior Colton Linton, who set a school record in the 200-meter dash (23.19).

Eastern Mennonite welcomes back a former champion in junior Michael Allen.  Allen won both the long jump (22-10.00 feet) and the triple jump (46-5.25 feet).  He also placed sixth in the 55-meter dash (6.76).

Listed below is the complete 2011 ODAC Men’s Indoor Track Coaches’ Poll.  For more information, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC’s home n the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  

2011 ODAC MEN’S INDOOR TRACK COACHES’ POLL
(#) Denotes first place votes