ODAC Eleven Ready for NCAA Indoor Championships

Posted: Mar 12, 2020

FOREST, Va. --- The ODAC and its member schools will be well-presented at the upcoming NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships with 11 competitors ready for action. Competition will cover two days in Winston-Salem, N.C., with JDL Fast Track serving as the host venue and working with the ODAC's own Guilford College in welcoming more than 500 athletes to the region.

Competition is slated to begin on Friday, March 13, at 10:00 a.m. and continue throughout the evening. Saturday's slate of events begins an hour later at 11:00 a.m. and concludes with the 4x400-meter relays just after 5:00 p.m. All times are Eastern. Be sure to follow along with the official chamionship video streams provided by NCAA.com. *

RELATED: Event Schedule | Championship Streams: Friday | Saturday

Bridgewater College will feature the most athletes from an ODAC school with five Eagles headed a few hours south. Senior sprinter and jumper Davonta Womack and sophomore thrower Michael Lotts represent BC's men, while distance runners Calista Ariel, a senior, and English Jackson, a junior, along with junior jumper Felicia Clements comprise the Eagles' women's trio.

Both the University of Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan University will send two athletes to Winston-Salem. The Hornets feature men's sophomore sprinter Alex Shadkhoo and women's junior hurdler LaMaya Lacy, while the Marlins are represented by a pair of jumpers in men's first-year Geni Roberts and women's sophomore Jaylyn Lane.

The remaining two standouts feature in the men's competition. Shenandoah University's flag will be carried by senior sprinter Elijah Morton, while sophomore pole vaulter Joe O'Connor dons Washington and Lee University colors.

RELATED: Championship Heat Sheets

Womack will the busiest of the ODAC's competitors as he'll be competing in both the 60-meter dash and the long jump. Division III's "fastest man" after winning the 2019 outdoor 100-meter dash crown looks to add the indoor moniker to his bio as he is the joint top seed entering the 60m at 6.78-seconds with Michael Johnson from Augustana (Ill.) College. Shenandoah's Morton will also compete in the 60m as he slots 18th entering the championship at 6.90 seconds.

In the long jump, Womack sits fourth at 7.36 meters. The event's top seed is Kyle Lichttenegger from Saint Mary's (Minn.) at 7.56 meters.

Fellow Eagle Lotts is the lone ODAC thrower in the competition. He slots 20th in the weight throw with his conference record heave of 17.91 meters achieved earlier this season. Andrew Jarrett from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is the top qualifier at 20.87 meters.

O'Connor enters the pole vault field ranked 12th at 4.83 meters. University of Wisconsin-Stout's Noah Zastrow leads the 20-man group at 5.39 meters. Roberts is positioned 13th in the triple jump at 14.43 meters. All competitors are looking up at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Jonathan Wilburn at 15.32 meters. Shadkhoo will look to climb the 200-meter dash ladder from his opening 18th-position at 22.17-seconds. Loras College's Patrick Mikel owns the top spot at 21.47-seconds.

Ariel leads BC's trio in the women's competition as the 10th-ranked competitor in the 3,000-meter run at 9:56.13. All runners in the event trail the 9:36.23 qualifying time of Parley Hannan from Ithaca College. Hannan also leads the 5,000-meter run field, the event in which Jackson will compete. Jackson's time of 17:26.94 is positioned 18th in the event, while Hannan's top qualifying time stands at 16:12.80. Clements will compete in the women's high jump. She is one of three athletes that qualified having cleared 1.67 meters. Colby College's Sharde Johnson leads the field at 1.78 meters.

Lacy and Lane both have their eyes set on high honors in their events. Lacy is slotted 16th on the 60-meter hurdles list at 8.90-seconds. The top seed is only 0.30-seconds ahead of Lacy, with Favor Ezewuzie from Wheaton (Ill.) College owning that mark at 8.60-seconds. Lane is the 13th-ranked competitor in the triple jump at 11.69 meters, a mark she achieved at the ODAC Championships and reset both the conference overall and championship records. University of Chicago's Isabel Maletich leads the field at 12.58 meters.

In addition to prepping for the championships, several individuals from the ODAC picked up All-South/Southeast Region honors from the USTFCCCA. On the men's side, Womack was named the Track Athlete of the Year for the second time in as many indoor seasons. Washington and Lee mentor Brandon Uhl was tabbed the Head Coach of the Year, while Bridgewater's Shane Stevens garnered Assistant Coach of the Year recognition.

On the women's ledger, BC's Ariel earned Track Athlete of the Year laurels with the Eagles' Brian Cunningham earning Assistant Coach of the Year accolades. In addition to assisting the track programs, Cunningham is Bridgewater's cross country head coach.

* The NCAA announced on Wednesday evening, March 11, that all winter championships will be conducted as planned but without spectators allowed in the venues. Further updates will be made as deemed appropriate. For the Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, only participating student-athletes, coaches, and essential meet personnel will be permitted at the meet.