Bridgewater Welcomes ODAC Track to Jopson Field
FOREST, Va. --- The ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships return to Bridgewater College this weekend as the Eagles open the gates of Jopson Field to the rest of the conference. ODAC squads will compete in 40 total events (20 men, 20 women) beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17 and continuing on Saturday, April 18.
LIVE MEET RESULTS
MEN'S HEAT SHEETS
WOMEN'S HEAT SHEETS
EVENTS SCHEDULE
HOST WEBSITE - BRIDGEWATER
Lynchburg College and Roanoke College added to their record totals of ODAC championships in 2014, with the Hornets claiming their 28th men's title and the Maroons donning their 10th women's crown. Bridgewater looks to take away both pieces of hardware as the Eagles posted a dual championship indoors, hoisting the men's and women's trophies in February.
Both Athlete of the Meet honorees from the ODAC indoor championships headline a star-studded field that will take aim at setting conference records. Eastern Mennonite University's Hannah Chappell-Dick and Washington and Lee University's Ian McDonald took home top individual honors from the indoor meet. McDonald will be joined by the 2014 ODAC Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year, Dana Lee. All three earned All-America recognition at the 2015 NCAA Division III Indoor Track Championships.
Chappell-Dick, the national runner-up in the women's indoor mile, is set to compete in a trio of individual events this weekend, including a relatively new discipline for her, the high jump. She's tied for sixth at 1.49 meters entering the championships. Her prowess in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs is well known as she ranks in the top-five in the country in both events. Her 1,500m time of 4:32.54 set a conference record and is second in the country, while her 2:11.36 in the 800m is nearly seven-seconds faster than the next closest seed time. That time is #4 on the national charts.
Also a second-place finisher in the NCAA mile run, McDonald has his eyes set on the finish line in two individual events. He enters the men's 1,500-meter run with the ODAC's top mark at 3:56.82, which also ranks 35th nationally. He'll have some work to do in his other race, the 5,000-meter run. His time of 15:51.73 is slotted 10th entering the weekend, more than a minute behind Bridgewater's Luke Sohl (14:44.39), who looks to add to his list of accomplishments that includes two previous outdoor Athlete of the Meet distinctions.
Lee captured the second All-American honor of her career in March, placing eighth in the long jump. Lee will be busy this weekend, taking part in four individual events. She is the top seed in the long jump after posting a leap of 5.54 meters, which sits 11th nationally. Her best distance of 11.14 meters in the triple jump is tied for third with EMU's Oksana Kittrell. BC's Kristen Trice (11.37m) and Lynchburg's Aleshia Washington (11.28m) own the top two marks and rank 22nd and 26th in the country, respectively. Lee will also sprint in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. She's seeded sixth in the 100m at 12.94-seconds, with Roanoke's Esther Prempeh (12.61) leading three heats of sprinters. Lee is a few spots higher in the 200m, ranking third at 26.00-seconds. Virginia Wesleyan College's Tiffany Lennon (25.89) has the best time amongst 24 competitors.
Lynchburg's Brian Fuentes looks to continue to a long line of strong Hornet hurdlers. He's tied for third in the 110-meter hurdles (15.84), but his time of 54.35-seconds in the 400-meter hurdles tops the ODAC and ranks 19th nationally. W&L's Janey Fugate is also a national-caliber athlete in the 400m hurdles, with her time of 1:02.70 sitting seventh in the country. If she's anywhere near that time this weekend, she'll likely reset her own ODAC meet record in the event, which stands at 1:04.41 from 2012.
Some of the longer distances also feature nationally well-positioned performers. EMU's Kat Lehman, who is set to run three times at BC, is ranked sixth in NCAA D-III in the 5,000-meter run at 17:08.75. Roanoke's Harrison Toney looks to continue his strong showing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The steeple will actually be competed at nearby James Madison University, where Toney will look to improve upon his nationally ninth-rated time of 9:19.14.
Lynchburg's Evan Truman is in striking distance of the country's top-10 in the long jump. His ODAC-best leap of 7.02 meters is currently 11th on the national lists.
In the throws, the ODAC features strong competitors in the javelin. On the men's side, the Generals' Eddie Barnes is a tick outside the national top-20. His best toss of 56.73 meters is 21st in the country. Three standouts highlight the women's javelin. VWC's Nikki Burns is 24th nationally at 39.50 meters, with RC's Mary Kelly right on her heels (39.40m) in 25th position. Shenandoah University's Danyelle McGrady (38.30m) is 33rd in D-III.
When it comes to relays, Roanoke's women have shined in both the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter disciplines. In the shorter event, RC's team of Prempeh, Melanie Meadows, Alease Kinney and Alexis Janney are 14th in the country at 48.21 seconds. VWC (49.38) will give them a run for their money as the only other ODAC squad seeded under 50-seconds. In the 4x400m, Kinney, Jessica Mejia, Erin McGovern and Janney have the Maroons ranked third nationally at 3:50.85, just off the ODAC record (3:50.12).
For additional information on past results, 2014-15 top times and the championship location, visit the ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships website. Be sure to also check out the host website from Bridgewater College. For more on ODAC Outdoor 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.