Washington and Lee Hosts Conference Teams

FOREST, Va. --- The ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set for Wilson Field at Washington and Lee University this weekend as the Generals  open their campus to the rest of the conference for two days of competition in Lexington.  ODAC squads will compete in 40 total events (20 men, 20 women) beginning at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, April 21 and continuing on Saturday, April 22.

RELATED: Men's Start List  |  Women's Start List  |  Events Schedule

Last season, Bridgewater College captured both team titles by less than 20 points each. The Eagles' men, who also hoisted the ODAC trophy in 2015, collected 182 points to top Lynchburg College by 12 tallies and secure the program's ninth overall conference title. In the women's ranks, the Eagles racked up 164 points to out-pace Washington and Lee by 16 markers for BC's second overall women's championship.

Below we take a look at each of the event disciplines heading into the 2017 championships.  For additional information on past results, top times, and the championship location, visit the ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships website.  Be sure to also check out the host website from Washington and Lee for information pertinent to the championship including streaming video of select events.

RELATED: Live Meet Results  |  Host Website (W&L)

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 and Instagram.

SPRINTS
Men -- Lynchburg's Evan Truman has positioned himself atop the performance list in both the 100m (10.74) and 200m (21.90) dashes. His 100m time is tied for 16th in the country. Close on his heels in the 200m is Virginia Wesleyan's Keyontae Norfleet (21.93). Don't count out indoor ODAC Athlete of the Meet, BC's Alex Galloway, who enters with top-five times of 10.98 and 22.02, respectively. He'll also take a run at the 400m dash as his 49.65 seed time trails only SU's Ansel Borhauer (49.42), who won the event last season.
Women -- BC All-American Amber Celen has already set the ODAC overall record in the 100m at 11.76 seconds, and also owns the season's top time in the 200m at 24.51. Those times are ranked third and fourth in the NCAA Division III, respectively. EMU's Tajah Miller (12.20) and SU's Shamyra Wilkerson (12.44) are the top contenders in the shorter sprint, with Roanoke's Claire Aurand looking to cut the one-second difference (25.50) between her and Celen in the 200m dash. In the 400m dash, RC's Brynn MacDougall is the only athlete to post a sub-60-second time this season (59.14). Wildcard entrants Dana Lee from W&L and Tye Meador from BC join BC's Maryellen Hauver (1:00.05) and VWC's Jayla Cross (1:00.96) as the top seeded challengers.

HURDLES/STEEPLE
Men -- Randolph's Anthony Quinn looks for a repeat in the 110m hurdles as he enters with Divsion III's 12th-best time at 14.71 seconds. W&L's Drew Pranka will make a run at both titles as he is seeded second in the 110H at 15.18 and the 400m hurdles in 54.84. He'll have to do a lot of work if EMU's Connor Faint is at his best in the 400H. The 2016 event winner owns the nation's second-best time at 52.33 seconds entering the championships. There will be a new champion in the 3000m steeplechase after RC's Harrison Toney reset the ODAC meet record last year. LC teammates Drew Smith (9:36.06) and Tristan Lucy-Speidel (9:36.33) are separated by just 0.27 seconds as the top seeds this year.
Women -- BC's Emily Valle is the top-contender for a new champion in the 100m hurdles (15.47), but she'll have plenty of competition from W&L's Nikki Doherty (15.83). Don't count out RAND's Marisa Quarti (16.55) or BC's Amber Celen (16.59). In the 400m hurdles, W&L's Kaleigh Hinton returns to defender her title, but her time of 1:07.17 sits third this season behind teammate Alison Peacock (1:04.66) and BC's Valle (1:06.53). In the 3000m steeplechase, SU's Shelby Shrader will try for a repeat victory, but her time of 12:05.27 is well off the pace set by top seed Samantha Schreiber (11:32.94) from LC. Her teammate Morgan Alvis (11:34.37) and RC's Claire Brooks (11:51.71) also have sub-12:00 times.

MID-DISTANCE
Men -- Take your pick in the men's 800m run. EMU's Tyler Denlinger (1:53.19) owns the nation's 23rd-best time coming in, but VWC's Trey White (1:54.70) and W&L's Cooper Baird (1:55.98) aren't that far off. Don't sleep on EMU's Alec Thibodeaux (1:56.76) or RC's Kevin Waterman (1:56.77) either. In the 1,500m run, W&L athletes own three of the four posted times below the 4:00-mark this season. Ian McDonald (3:57.33) is back to defend is 2016 title, but W&L teammates Baird (3:55.83) and MacKenzye Leroy (3:59.23) are right there. BC's Connor Maguder (3:59.41) and EMU's Denlinger (4:02.19) are also primed to challenge.
Women -- We'll have a new champion in the 800m and 1500m runs with the graduation of dual champion Hannah Chappell-Dick. LC's Natalie Deacon made her name known indoors after four successful years on the Hornets soccer team (including a 2014 national title). She owns the nation's fifth-best 800m time at 2:11.66. EMU's Hannah Nichols (2:13.47) and BC's Maryellen Hauver (2:14.73) ranked 15th and 22nd in the country as the top seeded challengers to Deacon, with W&L's Catherine Fonvielle (2:16.90) not far behind. And then there is VWC All-American Marissa Coombs (2:19.07) who lurks within striking distance. Coombs is the seeded favorite in the 1500m as her 4:33.15 is four seconds faster than Deacon's 4:37.60. Coombs' time is fifth in the country, while Deacon sits 16th. W&L's Samantha Yates (4:46.04) and Lily Arnold (4:5121) are joined by RC's Caity Ashley (4:58.19) as the only other sub-5:00 times this season.

DISTANCE
Men -- We know more about the 5000m run than the 10000m run given the amount of wildcard entries without a seed time in the longer event. Still, in both events, ODAC cross country champion Mac Strehler tops the charts. He is the only sub-15:00 time in the 5K at 14:50.45 and reset the W&L record in the 10K at 30:19.60. That latter time, which is ninth in the country, is nearly three-minutes faster than RC's John Wiggins' second-seed time (33:00.79). Watch out for LC's Andrew Osborne (15:06.86), W&L's MacKenzye Leroy (15:09.03) and BC's Jamie Hiegel (15:13.97) and Trey Gibson (15:17.56) in the 5K. Cross country standouts Alec Thibodeaux from EMU and Ian McDonald from W&L are among the unseeded wildcard entrants. In the 10K, half the field has not yet run the event this season. That includes BC's Gibson and Hiegel and LC's Andrew Osborne, who set the ODAC meet record in winning the event last season.
Women -- The women's distance fields are a more known commodity than the men's contigents with just six wildcards amongst the two events. In the 5K, RC's Kerri Dalton (17:54.29) leads the charge with the lone sub-18:00 time of the season. LC's trio of Samantha Schreiber (18:04.10), Morgan Alvis (18:18.59) and Natalie Deacon (18:23.03) will look to push the pace along with 2016 champion, W&L's Samantha Yates (18:25.63). In the 10K, W&L's Kirsten McMichael (37:13.22) has more than a minute lead on RC's Dalton (38:18.52), the defending event champion. LC's Samantha Schreiber and Shenandoah duo Shelby Shrader and Emily Miller are amongst a strong list of five unseeded wildcards.

VERTICAL JUMPS
Men -- W&L's Turner earned second place points on attempts a season ago after tying for the top cleared distance in the high jump. This year, he leads the list of participants as the lone competitor to leap the bar at 1.90m. RAND's Philemon Afrifa-Boakye (1.89m) and LC's Quinton Coe (1.88m) are the next two seeded challengers. The pole vault will feature a new champion in 2017. W&L's Shep Sims is the seeded-favorite after clearing 4.46m. RC's Dillon Kopec and BC's Jordon Weatherwax are seeded second at 3.95m.
Women -- RC's Mara Briggs enters the ODAC championships with the best seeded mark for this second straight season, this time at 1.60m. While she hopes that translates to a league title, she'll be challenged by BC's Courtney Adams (1.57m) and Felicia Clements (1.55m), along with VWC's Rolonda Taylor (1.55m). In the pole vault, W&L's Elizabeth Stanton won the event as a freshman in 2014 and last season as a junior. She is the favorite to capture a third crown with a top-seed mark of 3.55m. BC's Courtney Adams and LC's Maddie VanAken are slotted second at 3.25m.

HORIZONTAL JUMPS
Men -- If you've been reading along with all the events, you know that LC's Evan Truman owns the best times in the 100m and 200m dashes. He also sits atop the charts in the long jump, joining BC's Brandon Christian with top-seeded marks of 7.03m. SU's Chris Smith (6.80m) and Corey Cheeks (6.59m) could be primed for a run at the top, along with EMU's Grant Amoateng (6.69m). Amoateng, however, is the clear favorite in the triple jump. His top-seeded mark of 14.24m is 20th in the country and more than a half-meter clear of SU's Smith (13.52m). BC's Christian sits third (13.46m), while teammate and 2016 event champion Darin Council (13.36m) looks to improve upon his fourth ranking on the peformance list.
Women -- The long jump is headlined by a pair of multi-All-Americans. W&L's Dana Lee looks to complete the career sweep in the event has she has won the outdoor long jump in each of her three previous seasons. Nevertheless, her 5.47m seed mark sits second to BC's Amber Celen (5.78m) and tied with the Eagles' Tye Meador. Celen, who also owns the ODAC's best times inthe 100m and 200m dashes, is seventh in the country in the long jump. EMU's Oksana Kittrell (5.32m) and VWC's Rolonda Taylor (5.31m) are positioned well to challenge. In the triple jump, Lee owns the top-seed at 11.07m and looks to return to the top of the awards platform after winning this title in 2015. She'll be challenged by EMU's Kitrell (10.66m) and VWC's Taylor (10.66m) in addition to W&L's Alexa Castellana (10.62m) and BC's Meador (10.60m).

THROWS
Men -- Dash Dericks headlines the men's throws as he owns the top mark in the discus (47.31m) and the javelin (55.90m). LC's Dalton Hoppe (53.82m) is the only other competitor to throw the javelin more than 50 meters this season. BC's Terell Prescott leads the hammer throw field at 48.37m with 2016 champion Patrick Robertson from W&L (48.37m) sitting in the #2 position. A trio of competitors from BC trail Dericks in the discus. That includes last season's champion Darin Council, who owns the second-best mark this season at 44.10m. Corey Huffman (43.19m) and Prescott (42.62m) also look to challenge. Robertson (13.74m) is one of three Generals to lead the shot put performance list with Jay Roberts (13.71m) and Andrew Creel (13.70m) following close behind. LC's Evan Griffey and BC's Council aren't far off with dual 13.58m personal season-best marks.
Women -- A few names jump off the page in the women's throws -- BC's Katelyn Senger, RAND's Trevanna Berryman, and SU's Danyelle McGrady. McGrady leads the way in a pair of events and is #2 in a third. She owns the top mark (47.29m) and looks to defend her title in the hammer throw, and also sits atop the javelin chart with the nation's 11th-best mark at 40.87m. She is second in the discus (40.34m) behind Senger, who twice set the ODAC overall record this season. That mark currently stands at 46.04m, which is fifth in the country, as she looks to defend her 2016 championship. Senger is third in the hammer (39.01m) and fourth in both the shot put (11.04m) and javelin (30.91m). Berryman leads the way in the shot put at 12.06m, and sits third in the discus (39.42m). Defending ODAC shot put champion Michelle Yates from VWC (11.91m) is poised to challenge Berryman for top billing.