Conference Athletes Return to Prince George's SportsPlex
FOREST, Va. --- After two straight seasons at a new venue, the ODAC Indoor Track & Field Championships return to a familiar facility as the Prince George's SportsPlex in Landover, Md., prepares to welcome the conference's student-athletes on Sunday. Shenandoah University takes up the mantle as the host school for the championship, which includes 16 events for each of the men's and women's ranks.
LIVE RESULTS (WITH START LISTS)
PERFORMANCE LIST - WOMEN
PERFORMANCE LIST - MEN
The 2015 championships featured a sweep by Bridgewater College as the Eagles hoisted both the men's and women's team trophies. The men's crown was BC's fifth overall and first since 1997, while the women's championship marked the Eagles second overall, both coming in the last two seasons.
Individually, a pair of track stars earned ODAC Athlete of the Meet honors in Eastern Mennonite University Hannah Chappell-Dick and Washington and Lee University's Ian McDonald. Chappell-Dick won both the 800-meter (2:17.37) and mile runs (5:18.76), and joined her teammates in setting in a new championship record in the distance medley relay (12:37.64). McDonald was the lone men's competitor to win twice, claiming titles in the mile (4:27.37) and 3,000-meter (8:47.18) runs. He also participated in the fourth-place (3:29.60) 4x400-meter relay team.
Chappell-Dick is one of several standout women's athletes set to compete on Sunday. She enters with the top times in both the 800-meter (2:13.42) and mile (4:59.10) runs. Her 800m time sits seventh in NCAA Division III, while her mile time is 14th. She'll certainly be challenged by several in both events, including Virginia Wesleyan College's Marissa Coombs (2:19.70 and 5:00.68).
Bridgewater's Amber Celen is the lone athlete to set new ODAC records during the regular season schedule. She eclipsed a pair of eight-year old standards set by former Roanoke College All-American Robin Yerkes in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, etching her name alongside times of 0:07.75 and 0:25.23, respectively. Celen's 200m time is second in the country, with her 60m mark chiming in 11th in the D-III ranks. She also leads the ODAC in the 60-meter hurdles (0:09.42).
W&L's Dana Lee and BC's Kristen Trice will also be among those challenging for top athletes honors. Lee owns the ODAC's season-best 400-meter (0:58.27) and long jump (5.59m) marks, while Trice is the conference leader in the high (1.65m) and triple (11.23m) jumps. Other athletes to watch include Lynchburg College thrower Kim Alfaro (16.16m in the weight throw) and Roanoke sprinter Lexie Janney (0:59.26 in the 400m).
On the men's side, W&L's McDonald and EMU's Alec Thibodeaux will battle atop the 3000-meter and mile races. McDonald enters as the narrow leader over Thibodeaux in the 3000-meter run (8:42.19 to 8:43.68), while Thibodeaux maintains a slim edge in the mile (4:19.13 to 4:19.84).
Fellow Royal Jeremy Heizer will challenge for both throwing titles. He is the conference leader in the shot put (15.01m), and sits second (14.87m) to W&L's Patrick Robertson (14.89) in the weight throw.
Bridgewater runner Sam Gunther and Lynchburg jumper Evan Truman have posted national top-25 marks in the last few weeks. Gunther currently sits 19th in the in the 800-meter run at 1:54.15, more than two seconds clear of the second-best ODAC title. Truman is 23rd in the long jump after leaping to 6.88 meters at the Virginia Tech Challenge.
A full schedule of events for the championship can be found here. Start lists and performance marks can be found in the same location as live results from the meet. For additional information, visit the ODAC Indoor Track & Field Championship website here or the host website by Shenandoah University here.