2021-22 ODAC Cross Country News
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ODAC Announces Berkley and Jopson Award Winners
June 07, 2022It is rare to have a "first" for a set of awards that have been bestowed since the early 1980's, but that is exactly what we have this season following the announcement of the Marjorie Berkley and Harry G. "Doc" Jopson Awards on Tuesday afternoon. Shenandoah University women's basketball forward Olivia Weinel and Eastern Mennonite University cross country and mid-distance track athlete Isaac Alderfer garnered the conference's highest honors from the ODAC Board of the Directors. Weinel is the first recipient of either honor from Shenandoah since the Winchester-based school joined the ODAC prior to the 2012-13 season. Alderfer is the sixth Royal to earn the Jopson Award and 12th overall high honor winner from EMU. He is the first Royals' student-athlete to claim either trophy since Tyler Denlinger earned the Jopson Award in 2017. -
Marlins Tab DelBene to Cross Country and Track & Field Posts
January 14, 2022Colby DelBene of Forest, Virginia, has been named Head Cross Country Coach/Assistant Director of Track & Field at Virginia Wesleyan University, according to Cameia Alexander, VWU Director of Men's and Women's Cross Country and Track and Field.
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ODAC Standouts Compete in NCAA Cross Country Championships
November 20, 2021ODAC competitors took part in the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday afternoon. A total of 16 runners from league schools took part in six-kilometer (women) and eight-kilometer (men) races at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky.
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Lynchburg Reigns Over ODAC Cross Country Awards, Preps for National Stage
November 19, 2021All eyes are on cross country this weekend with the return of the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday. As was customary prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ODAC kicks off the weekend by announcing its annual All-ODAC Cross Country Special Awards recipients following a vote of the league's head coaches over the past week. The University of Lynchburg, which will feature both of its teams in Louisville, Ky., tomorrow in the national championships, collected all six special honors decided this week in addition to the previous accolades announced following the conference championships. Hornets graduate student Stephanie Burnett and senior Max Sparks were tabbed the ODAC Women's and Men's Runners of the Year. Teammates Allison Dell and Sam Llaneza took home the ODAC Women's and Men's Rookie of the Year laurels. Head coach Jake Reed earned both ODAC Coach of the Year plaques from his peers. The ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurances Scholar-Athletes --- Burnett and Eastern Mennonite University senior Isaac Alderfer --- were announced along with the All-ODAC First and Second Teams following the ODAC Championships hosted by Bridgewater College earlier this fall. A complete listing of honors is posted below.
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Cross Country Regional Recap: Sparks Wins, Lynchburg Gets At-Large Bids
November 14, 2021ODAC cross country has that spark...Max Sparks, to be exact. The University of Lynchburg standout and ODAC men's individual champion again stood atop the final results as he won the men's crown to highlight the conference's showing at the NCAA Division III Region VI Championships hosted at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, S.C. The news got better on Sunday afternoon as Lynchburg, who finished second in both the men's eight-kilometer and women's six-kilometer races, earned a pair of at-large team bids to next weekend's NCAA Division III Championships in E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. Additionally, two women's runners qualified for nationals directly from their regional performances.
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2021 ODAC Cross Country Championships Recap
October 31, 2021Lynchburg swept the team and individual titles at the 2021 ODAC Cross Country Championships. We take a look at those performances, and talk with both ODAC Runners of the Week, Max Sparks and Kelsey Lagunas from Lynchburg.
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Lynchburg Sweeps ODAC Cross Country Championships
October 30, 2021For the eighth straight championship, one school has claimed both of the conference cross country team trophies. This year, the University of Lynchburg is the ultimate winner as the Hornets men's and women's squads hoisted both pieces of league hardware following competition at the 2021 ODAC Cross Country Championships.
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Previewing the 2021 ODAC Cross Country Championships
October 29, 2021Bridgewater College is the host venue for the return of the ODAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature with inclement weather impacting the course and greeting the conference's runners in the first cross country postseason event in two years. ODAC runners will be competing on a custom layout on Bridgewater's campus featuring relatively flat terrain. Runners will complete multiple loops of the course beginning with the men's eight-kilometer race at 11:00 a.m. ET followed by the women's six-kilometer competition at 12:00 p.m. ET.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country
October 19, 2021Nearly every ODAC school was in action in week seven with five different meets featuring league runners. The ODAC Cross Country Championships are less than two weeks away. Events this past weekend and a couple next weekend will serve as the final tune-ups as the conference prepares to hand out the first trophy of the 2021-22 season. Lynchburg performed well in strong fields at the Inter-Regional Border Battle in New Jersey with a pair of Hornets -- Stephanie Burnett and Frank Csorba -- earning their second ODAC weekly awards of the fall.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country
October 12, 2021Week six of the ODAC fall season featured a trio of cross country teams in action as the first championship of the 2021-22 athletic year draws closer. Earning this week's ODAC Runners of the Week awards are a pair of first year student-athletes in Guilford's Nate Warden and Sweet Briar's Angelyn Wiggins.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country
October 05, 2021Nearly the entire ODAC cross country sponsorship was in action in week five at one of four separate events. Each meet featured championship level distances for the first time, with several strong performances forecasting a strong championship season beginning in a few weeks. This week's ODAC Runners of the Week both shined on the national stage -- Lynchburg's Max Sparks and Stephanie Burnett.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country
September 28, 2021ODAC athletes competed in three different events over the past week with two of those featuring multiple distances for competition. In all cases, conference runners performed well with high finishes and several personal-best times. This week's ODAC Runners of the Week are Roanoke's Chamberlain Zulauf and Shenandoah's Erin Atkinson.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country
September 21, 2021Roughly half the league was in action over the past week with three events populated by ODAC runners. League student-athletes continue to post strong times as they ramp up for some large upcoming events in preparation for the championship season. This week's ODAC Runners of the Week are Eastern Mennonite's Allison Shelly and Washington and Lee's Drew Woodfolk.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country
September 14, 2021Several ODAC cross country teams competed over eight-kilometer (men) and six-kilometer (women) course at two events this weekend with some strong times ranking both well on school charts and as new personal-best efforts. University of Lynchburg duo Kelsey Lagunas and Frank Csorba earned this week's ODAC Runner of the Week honors.
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ODAC Athletes of the Week | Cross Country, Field Hockey, Soccer, Volleyball
September 07, 2021The first multi-sport report of the 2021-22 season shows us that ODAC student-athletes are ready for a big campaign! Weekly awards will be announced on multiple days each week throughout the academic year. See the full schedule below. Those earning ODAC Athlete of the Week awards in this edition include (pictured from top and left): Elizabeth Longacre from Eastern Mennonite field hockey, Peter Smith from Roanoke men's cross country, Emily Smeds from Bridgewater women's cross country, Brennan Lagana from Lynchburg men's soccer, Chandler Gallant from Shenandoah women's soccer, and Sydney Heifner from Washington and Lee volleyball.
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ODAC Cross Country Roundtable: Previewing 2021
August 31, 2021ODAC cross country returns with a full slate for the first time since the 2019 campaign. To preview the season, six coaches join the ODAC for the first ODAC Cross Country Roundtable. Denver Davis from Bridgewater, Jake Reed from Lynchburg, Andy Marrocco from Shenandoah, Rebekah Ricksecker from Sweet Briar, and Brandon Spalding and Michael Dager from Washington and Lee take a look back at last spring, breakdown the ODAC championship course, review the USTFCCA's national and regional rankings, and discuss the regional realignment and how that may impact the new South Region.
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VWU's Hull Headlines 20 ODAC Academic All-Americans
August 19, 2021With the start of the 2021-22 academic and athletic campaigns quickly approaching, ODAC members and their student-athletes continue to haul in major postseason honors from the 2020-21 season. Conference student-athlete distinction and influence extends well beyond their athletic arenas with several taking home Academic All-America recognition from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
