ODAC Athletes Earn Five All-American Honors at Indoor Track Championships

Roanoke freshman Quinn Harlan finished as the runner-up in the 60-meter dash at the 2018 NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships.
Roanoke freshman Quinn Harlan finished as the runner-up in the 60-meter dash at the 2018 NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- For the second straight season, ODAC athletes will bring back a handful's worth of All-American honors from the NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships. The conference's contingent of seven competitors collected five top-eight finishes over two days of action in Birmingham, Ala.

Picking a highlight moment from the competition would be difficult for any fan given the amount of success. A runner-up showing, two third-place finishes, and sixth and eighth place awards dotted the performance list with a few other close shaves from league athletes over the weekend.

Bridgewater standout Amber Celen added to her legacy two-times over with her 10th and 11th career All-America honors. She had a mixed first day, missing out on defending her national title in the 60-meter dash after tying for 11th (7.76) in the prelims. She made up for it in the long jump by placing eighth at 5.56 meters (18-3.00). On day two, Celen got her chance at a title defense in the 200-meter dash. She chimed in sixth in the prelims at 24.86 seconds, setting up a sprint to third place in the finals at 24.95 seconds. Wadeline Jonathas from UMASS-Boston, who also won the long jump (5.94m), claimed the event in 24.07 seconds. Her prelim time of 23.90 seconds broke Celen's Division III championships record time (24.15) set last season.

Roanoke College freshman Quinn Harlan made good on her eye-popping ODAC Championship performance in the 60-meter dash, where she won the event with Division III's second-best all-time mark of 7.46 seconds. She blew away the competition to win her prelims heat in 7.54 seconds, and went on to finish second in the finals at 7.52 seconds. Jonathas again stood atop the podium at 7.41 seconds, which was a tick off her 7.40 prelim time. Both eclipsed her D-III all-time best seed time of 7.43 seconds.

The remaining two All-American honors came in women's mile run. Virginia Wesleyan University's Marissa Coombs and Lynchburg College's Natalie Deacon were separated by just 0.07 seconds in the prelims. Coombs chimed in ninth at 4:58.41, while Deacon used a late kick to claim the 10th and last finals qualifying spot with a time of 4:58.48. Both moved up the ladder in the finals on day two. Coombs blistered to third place at 4:56.72, while Deacon improved to sixth despite a slightly slower time than her prelims effort at 4:59.06. Emily Richards from Ohio Northern University won the event in 4:51.24.

RELATED: Meet Results

Washington and Lee University's MacKenzye Leroy came up just short of making it six All-American awards for ODAC athletes. He finished 10th in the mile run prelims at 4:13.69, claiming the last finals qualifying spot. He improved upon his time in the finals, placing ninth overall and one position shy of All-America status with a time of 4:12.84.

Roanoke jumper Mara Briggs showed well in her first national meet. She cleared 1.60 meters (5-3.0) in the high jump to tie for 12th place.

Bridgewater sprinter Davonta Womack came out on the wrong side of a photo-finish analysis. He posted a time of 6.90 seconds in the 60-meter dash, which was matched by Parker Witt from Wisconsin-Whitewater and Dominic Nda from UMASS-Boston. Officials went to the film to separate the three speedsters. Witt's time of 6.892 seconds earned him seventh place, while Nda picked up the last qualifying spot at 6.894 seconds. Womack was left just outside the finals at 6.895 seconds.

For more information in NCAA Indoor Track, 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 at @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram.