Small Margin Separates WLU, VWC for Second

SALEM, Va. --- Lynchburg College was picked to retain the ODAC men's cross country title after securing the top position in this season's annual coaches' preseason poll.  The Hornets received six first place votes and 94 total poll points.  Washington and Lee University (86 points) and Virginia Wesleyan College (83) rounded out the top three predicted finishes.  Both received a pair of first place nods.

Winner of the 2008 ODAC championship, Lynchburg is set to return six of its top seven runners from that title-deciding meet.  Two-time ODAC Runner of the Year, Ricky Flynn, leads the charge as he looks to become the first athlete in league history to earn the conference's top award three times.  Flynn carried that victory into a third place finish at the South/Southeast Regional, qualifying him for the NCAA Division III Championships.  In Hanover, Indiana, Flynn finished 14^th and earned All-America honors, the first Hornet to do so since 1983.

Set to join Flynn in LC's deep stables are five top-20 finishers from the 2008 ODAC Championship.  Those include Patrick Jacobs (6^th place), Brandon Demers (14^th), Lawrence Minor (16^th), Eric Palmer (17^th) and Ryan Van Alstine (18^th).

Washington and Lee crossed the line in third place at last season's final meet.  The Generals will need to replace three of their top four runners, including a pair of top-five finishers in Michael Welsh and Vance Berry.  Jack Ivy is the top returner from the '08 campaign following his eighth place showing in Virginia Beach.  He'll be accompanied by Robert Warneford-Thomson (23^rd), Ben Stutts (25^th) and Matthew Gossett (26^th).

The Marlins set a new program best in 2008, jumping up to a second place overall finish after ranking fifth at the 2007 meet and fourth in 2006, the squad's previous best showing.  Sean Whitson (7^th) and Robert Aaron (9^th) led VWC last season with Whitson returning to lead the group in 2009.  He'll have support from several solid veterans including David Kidd (10^th), Evan Ashby (11^th) and Nick Lauder (15^th).

The 2009 ODAC Men's Cross Country Championship is set for Saturday, October 31.  The event will be hosted by Roanoke College.

Posted below is the complete 2009 ODAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll.  For more information, visit any of the participating schools' websites, or go to the ODAC's home on the Internet at www.odaconline.com. 

2009 ODAC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
(#) denotes first place votes