Lee and Tallman Take Home Season-Ending Honors

FOREST, Va. --- Washington and Lee University track & field standouts Dana Lee and Zander Tallman earned the conference's top track awards on Tuesday as the duo were tabbed the ODAC Track & Field Athletes of the Year.  The Generals' stars are on opposite ends of their collegiate careers with Tallman recently graduating and Lee completing her first campaign in Lexington.

ODAC Indoor Championship Results  /  ODAC Outdoor Championship Results

NCAA Indoor Championship Results  /  NCAA Outdoor Championship Results

The pair combined for three All-American awards and just as many major honors from the conference.  Their performances also included several ODAC and school record-setting performances.

Lee jumpstarted her time in W&L blue and white by earning both the ODAC indoor and outdoor Rookie of the Year awards, sharing the latter honor with Roanoke College's Caitlin Ashley.  Indoors, the Nashville, Tenn.-native narrowly missed her first All-American honor by placing ninth in the long jump (5.41 meters; 17' 9.0") at the NCAA Division III Naitonal Championships at Nebraska Wesleyan University.  That came after she set the ODAC overall record in the event with a leap of 5.63 meters (18' 5.75") during the regular season.  At the ODAC Championships, Lee finished second in both the long jump (5.35m; 17' 6.75") and 200-meter dash (26.51 seconds), in addition to placing fourth in the 60-meter dash (8.09s) and fifth in the triple jump (10.36m; 34' 0.0").

Outdoors, Lee corralled that elusive first All-American award with a seventh place showing in the long jump via a leap of 5.59 meters (18' 4.25") at the NCAA Division III Championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University.  She previously won the long jump competition (5.45m; 17' 10.75") at the ODAC Championships hosted by Roanoke.  She added a second place effort in the 4x400-meter relay (4:01.31), third-place performances in the 200-meter dash (26.05s) and triple jump (10.98m; 36' 0.25"), and fourth-place points in the 100-meter dash (12.79s).  Prior to the NCAA Championships, Lee took over the top spot on the ODAC seasonal long jump charts with a mark of 5.73 meters (18' 9.75").

Hailing from Grand Blanc, Mich., Tallman earned All-America status twice in 2013-14, beginning with a third place finish in the indoor 400-meter dash (48.09s) at the NCAA Championships.  He finished second in the event (49.48s) at the ODAC Championships.  He also joined his teammates as runners-up in the 4x400-meter relay (3:23.98) and placed third individually in the 200-meter dash (22.38s) at the league's annual event, which was hosted for the first time by Virginia Wesleyan College at the Boo Williams Sportsplex.

Tallman's outdoor season was filled with highlights with none more impressive than his second All-American performance of the year after claiming the national championship in the 400-meter dash.  His time of 47.19 seconds topped the conference's seasonal charts and supplied the second D-III triumph in the 400-meter dash by ODAC athletes in the 2013-14 season when combined with the indoor crown earned by Lynchburg College speedster Tom Sippie.

At the ODAC Championships, Tallman earned Athlete of the Meet accolades --- and subsequently South/Southeast Region Track Athlete of the Year recognition by the USTFCCCA --- by winning a pair of individual events and helping W&L relays to two victories.  He won the 400-meter dash with an ODAC championship record-time of 47.66 seconds.  He went on to win the 800-meter race (1:55.84) and place fourth in the 200-meter dash (22.22s).  Tallman and his teammates won both the 4x400-meter (3:20.66) and 4x100-meter (42.13) relays.  The Generals' 4x100 relay team went on to compete at the NCAA Championships, placing ninth (41.24s) and missing finals qualification (in addition to All-American status) by 0.12-seconds.

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.