Lynchburg Receives Seven First Place Votes, Bridgewater Grabs One

FOREST, Va. --- Lynchburg College picked up seven first place votes on the way to 49 poll points as the Hornets were selected to win their 15^th straight and 26^th overall conference title in the annual ODAC Men’s Indoor Track Coaches’ Poll.  Bridgewater College picked up the remaining top nod and 41 total tallies, and Washington and Lee University rounded out the top three with 35 points.

The 2011-12 campaign features a new squad as Shenandoah University joins the ODAC ranks.  The addition of the Hornets this season is a prelude to SU joining the conference as a full-time member beginning July 1, 2012.  Shenandoah played its first ODAC contests in field hockey this fall and will also compete under the ODAC banner this spring in outdoor track & field.

Lynchburg and reigning ODAC Coach of the Year, Doug Thomasey, welcome back a bevy of talent including 2011 combined (indoor and outdoor) ODAC Track & Field Athlete of the Year, James Bell.  Bell won both the high jump (6’2”) and pole vault (15’5”) at the ODAC Indoor Championships.  He took second in the long jump (20’8.5”) and third in the 55-meter hurdles (7.98 sec.).  Fellow returnee Rachad Davis won the latter event (7.80) and helped LC to a second place showing in the 4x400-meter relay (3:25.99).  KeDarrius Bruce was second in the triple jump (44’4.75”), while Ralph Davis heaved his way to third place in the weight throw (51’9.75”) and fourth in the shot put (44’9.50”).  Cody Stanton took home third in the 5000-meter run (15:41.69) and Nathan Curtis did the same in the pole vault (13’5.25”).

Bridgewater features three athletes that combined for four second place finishes in 2011.  Jacob Kroko finished second in both the shot put (46’3.5”) and weight throw (53’2.75”), while Tim Wisniewski followed suit in the 800-meter run (1:59.81).  Paul Johnson made it a 2-3 BC finish in the 800 run with a time of 2:00.46.  Daryus Beale was second in the 55-meter hurdles (7.85) to go along with a sixth place showing in the triple jump (40’3.5”).  Eugene Cummings adds more depth after the third-best leap in the triple jump (42’10.75”).

Zander Tallman returns to lead Washington and Lee after earning ODAC Athlete of the Meet and Rookie of the Year honors in 2011.  He won the 200-meter (23.02) and 400-meter dashes (50.61), and joined fellow returning teammates Dillon Myers and Tyler Grant in the winning 4x400-meter relay (3:25.55).  Myers finished second in the 400 dash (50.87) and tied for that placing in the high jump (6’0”).  Cole Glasgow stopped the watches third in the 55-meter dash (6.59), while Matt Gossett and Jonathan Sells were third in the mile run (4:24.88) and long jump (20’7.75”), respectively.

The 5000-meter run may have been the most competitive event at the 2011 championships as the top three runners finished within .41 seconds of each other.  All three are back, led by event winner Derick Kosgei (15:41.28) and Chad Norton (15:41.40) from Guilford as well as LC’s Stanton (15:41.69).  Virginia Wesleyan College’s Sean Whitson finished fourth (15:57.59) and also makes a return to the track.

Other top returning athletes include Guilford’s Johnathan Smith, who won the 55-meter dash (6.51) and placed second in the 200-meter dash (23.04), and VWC’s Randy Lott, whose time of 6.58 seconds placed second in the 55 dash.  Roanoke College’s Colton Linton tied for fifth (6.65) in that event, but also took home a third place award in the 200 dash (23.12).

Listed below is the 2011-12 ODAC Men’s Indoor Track Coaches’ 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.  Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook by clicking HERE.  You can also follow the ODAC on Twitter by clicking HERE.

2011-12 ODAC MEN’S INDOOR TRACK COACHES’ POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes