BC, W&L, LC Share First Place Votes

FOREST, Va. --- Bridgewater College received four first place votes towards 60 total points to lead the 2014-15 ODAC Men’s Indoor Track Coaches Poll. Washington and Lee University secured 56 tallies, including three top marks.  Lynchburg College rounds out the top-three after picking up 47 points and the remaining two first place votes.

Five seniors set records at the 2014 ODAC Men’s Indoor Track Championships, hosted by Virginia Wesleyan College at the Boo Williams Sportsplex.  Lynchburg was involved in three of those new standards on the way to its 17th straight and 28th overall conference crown.  While none of last season’s record-setters return to the track this season, Bridgewater distance runner Luke Sohl does after claiming his second straight Athlete of the Meet honor.

Full Results from the 2014 ODAC Indoor Track Championships

Four athletes went on to qualify for competition at the NCAA Championships.  Former LC sprinter Tom Sippie claimed the national title in the 400-meter dash, while recent Washington and Lee graduate Zander Tallman finished third in the event, joining Sippie as an All-American.  Virginia Wesleyan College’s Randy Lott competed in both the 60-meter and 200-yard dashes.  W&L’s Aaron Jeong took to the track in the 60-dash with Lott, finishing 0.005 seconds ahead of the former Marlin for 12th place in the preliminaries.

The Eagles’ returning roster for 2014-15 includes a plethora of top-three finishers at last year’s championships, including three that won individual events.  Sohl placed first in the mile (4:22.69) and 3000-meter run (8:45.20) en route runner of the meet laurels.  Nevin Heckman stopped the watches first in the 800-meter run (1:56.85), while Stefan Vessels out-leaped the field in the triple jump (13.83m).  Vessels added a third place showing in the long jump (6.72m), while Jacob Wright, Tim Miller and Tyler Vest did the same in the 60-meter dash (6.98), 5000-meter run (15:40.38), and high jump (1.91m), respectively.  BC will also benefit from the return of Conner Maguder, Pete Monteleone and Don Mills, each of whom finished fourth in the mile (4:27.60), long jump (6.60m) and shot put (14.07m).

Washington and Lee will look to Jeong to lead the sprinting corps after finishing second in the 60-dash (6.91) and fourth in the 200-meter dash (22.83).  Reigning ODAC Rookie of the Year Mac Strehler is back after winning the 5000-meters (15:23.38), while 2014 ODAC cross country individual champion Ian McDonald adds more depth to the distance corps following a third-place performance in the mile (4:24.89).  John Jones (1:59.37) and Isidro Camacho (1:59.72) placed fourth in the fifth in the 800-meters, while Robert Jones ranked fourth in the pole vault (3.95m).

Lynchburg won six events last season, but just two winners return this year for 2014 ODAC Coach of the Year Zach Haupt.  Evan Truman won the long jump (6.83m), with teammate Zach Kezar (6.81m) chiming in right behind him.  Brian O’Dea (4.30m) topped the charts in the pole vault, while Daniel Shannon (4.10m) finished third in the discipline.  Corey Devore placed third in the high jump (1.91m).  The Hornets will again be strong in the throws with Spencer Latham back in the fold after finishing second in both the shot put (14.14m) and weight throw (14.85m).

Eastern Mennonite University will look to take a step forward after a strong showing in cross country in the fall.  South Region Runner of the Year Ryan Gehman will boost the Royals in the mid- to long-distance events.  Jacob Landis is EMU’s highest returner from last season’s indoor championships after placing fourth in the 5000-meters (15:41.94).  Alec Thibodeaux (4:28.24) finished fifth in the mile, while Drew Vrolijk (1.86m) was sixth in the high jump.  Azariah Cox (8.57) is the top returner in the conference in the 60-meter hurdles following the graduation of three of the top-four competitors.

Roanoke College’s strength lies in the mid- and long-distance events.  Harrison Toney finished second in the 5000-meter run (15:33.15) in addition to crossing the line third in the 3000-meters (8:48.06).  Cody Meadows chimed in third in the 800-meter run (1:58.51).  Meadows is joined by Kenny Poole and Nick Wright as returners to the distance medley relay team that placed third (10:46.86) last season.

Virginia Wesleyan College and Shenandoah University have strong jumpers set to return.  Ed Chase and Ethan Fowlkes lead the Marlins.  Chase placed second in the high jump (1.94m), while Fowlkes was third in the triple jump (13.31m) and sixth in the long jump (6.54m).  John Chapman hopes to help make up for the graduation of Randy Lott after placing sixth in the 200-meter dash (23.14).  For SU, Anthony Banks placed fifth in the long jump (6.58m) in addition to an eighth place effort in the high jump (1.81m).

Guilford College and Randolph College will look to strong showings from their first year classes.  The Quakers feature Joe Mitchell as last season’s top finisher.  He placed fourth in the 60-meter dash (7.03) and fifth in the 200-meter sprint (23.10).  The WildCats open just their second season of track competition.  Anthony Quinn is the top returner from 2014 after his sixth-placing showing in the 60-meter hurdles (8.74).

For more information on ODAC track & field, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.  Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook and follow @odacathletics on Twitter.

2014-15 ODAC MEN'S INDOOR TRACK COACHES POLL
(#) Denotes first place votes