GC's Norton is Men's Top Athlete, RC's Graves and W&L's Schultz Share Women's Honor

LEXINGTON, Va. --- The Lynchburg College men's team and the Roanoke College women's squad captured the team titles at the 2013 ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday evening.  The Hornets won six events towards 175.5 points and a 38.833-point spread between first and second place in the standings.  The Maroons topped Washington and Lee University by 23.5 points on the women's side after claiming nine event victories towards 178.5 points.

Gulford College's Chad Norton was named the men's ODAC Athlete of the Meet, while Roanoke's Carmen Graves and W&L's Lauren Schultz shared women's ODAC Athlete of the Meet honors.  LC mentor Doug Thomasey was tabbed the men's ODAC Coach of the Year, while the Generals' Nate Hoey earned the women's top coaching accolade.  Bridgewater College freshman Pete Monteleone earned men's ODAC Rookie of the Year honors, while Roanoke's Alexis Janney matched him on the women's side.  The Eagles' Tim Wisniewski and W&L's Annelise Madison were selected the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athletes of the Year in a vote of the league's sports information directors.

Full Meet Results

Norton won a pair of distance events over the two days in Lexington, setting new ODAC championship meet records in both races.  On Friday, the Quakers' junior out-paced the field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:23.57.  He followed that with a victory in the 5,000-meter run on Saturday, posting a time of 15:03.74.  His steeplechase time eclipsed the record set by teammate David Cason in 2012 (9:28.13), while his 5,000-meter mark snapped a 33-year old record set by Eastern Mennonite University's Ken Layman in 1980 (15:04.14).

Monteleone partcipated in four events, posting a victory in the long jump with a leap of 6.70 meters (21' 11.75").  He and teammates Nevin Heckman, Sam Gunther and Wisniewski took second the 4x400-meter dash in a time of 3:20.97.  Monteleone also finshed sixth in the high and triple jumps with distances of 1.75 meters (5' 9.00") and 13.24 meters (43' 5.25"), respectively.

In Lynchburg's six wins on the men's side, three came via throws from Greg Wilson.  The Hornets' senior won the shot put and hammer throw competitions on Friday, recording heaves of 14.51 meters (47' 7.25") and 50.59 meters (165' 11.75"). He added the discus crown on Saturday with a toss of 46.47 meters (152' 5.50").  Junior Rachad Davis became a three-time champion in the two hurdles events.  He posted a time of 15.13 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles, and then reset his own ODAC meet record with a time of 53.67 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles (ran 53.71 in 2012).  Junior Eric O'Connor posted the remaining win for LC in the pole vault as he cleared the bar at a height of 4.21 meters (13' 9.75").

Schultz participated in a pair of distance events on Friday, which competed within 3.5 hours of each other.  The Generals' senior nosed classmate Molly Ortiz in a photo finish to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:00.57.  Schultz then came back in the evening to place second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:04.30.

Graves proved victorious in three individual events and one relay, setting a meet record along the way.  She opened with a time of 2:13.91 in the 800-meter run, besting her own ODAC championship record from 2011  by more than three seconds (2:17.14).  She then won the 1,500-meter run in 4:52.14, and later added a title in the triple jump with a mark of 11.08 meters (36' 4.25").  Graves and teammates Jessica Mejia, Alease Kinney and Janney posted a time of 4:01.72 to claim the 4x400-meter relay crown.  The four-time All-American also placed third at 5.08 meters (16' 8.00") in the long jump.

In addition to the 4x400-meter victory, Janney won all three sprints and a second relay.  Janney claimed the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.55 seconds, and then added the 200-meter crown in 25.19 seconds.  She capped the sprint trio with a time of 56.46 seconds in the 400-meter dash.  Janney and teammates Esther Prempeh, Brianna Hood and Kinney topped the field in the 4x100-meter relay in 48.48 seconds.

Roanoke's remaining victory came in the hammer throw.  Junior Samantha Clowser tossed the apparatus 47.60 meters (156' 2.00"), besting second place by more than seven feet.

For more information on the 2013 ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, visit the websites of any of the participating schools.  You can also go to the host website by clicking HERE and the ODAC championship website by clicking HERE.