Bridgewater a Tight Second, Lynchburg Rounds Out Top Three

SALEM, Va. --- Washington & Lee University earned all but two first place votes as the Generals were picked to repeat as men's cross country champions in the annual ODAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll.  Bridgewater College received the remaining top nods in a tight second place finish (98 and 91 votes, respectively), and Lynchburg College picked up 78 tallies to finish third through the coaches' survey.

Washington & Lee ran away with its eighth ODAC men's cross country title in 2006, out-pacing its closest competitor by 30 place points.  Four of the top 14 runners to cross the finish line sported W&L blue and white with each set for a possible encore performance.  Junior Michael Welsh placed third overall with a time of 28:29.3 and was joined by classmate Vance Berry (5^th; 28:47.80) and senior Tom Brower (7^th; 29:10.2) on the All-ODAC First Team. Brower was also chosen as the recipient of the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete Award.  Senior Andrew Friski (12^th; 29:51.70) rounds out the possible top returnees for the Generals.

Bridgewater looks to make the leap to the top of the standings after placing second in last season's final race.  The Eagles could return three All-ODAC athletes to the course this year.  Juniors Brandon Spalding and Nathan Rittenhouse earned first team honors a season ago, with Spalding finishing fourth overall in a time of 28:32.0.  Rittenhouse stopped the watches at 28:52.9 in sixth place.  Senior Stanley Peyton earned second team accolades with a 13^th place showing in 29:54.8.

Lynchburg finished third in last year's conference finale and looks to close the gap amongst the top three squads this season.  Junior Jeremy Falke finished just 10-seconds off the mark in second place, crossing the line in 28:18.9.

A new individual champion will be crowned at the 2007 ODAC Championships, which will be hosted by Washington & Lee on Saturday, October 27.  Last season's top finisher, former Roanoke standout Eric Johnson, ran a 28:08.5 to win last season's final meet.

Listed below is the entire ODAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll.  For more information on ODAC cross country, visit www.odaconline.com or any of the competing schools sponsored websites.

2007 ODAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
(#) Denotes first place votes