LYNCHBURG, Va. | The ODAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships head to a new location this weekend as the 2019 affair will be hosted by Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va., for the first time in program history. WildCat Stadium will serve as the main venue with throwing areas surrounding the grounds.
As much as the strong caliber of athlete that will be showcased on Friday and Saturday, weather is topping many of the headlines leading up to the weekend. Predicted inclement weather, including a chance for storms, has already altered the championship format to allow for maximize efficiency while still giving the athletes an opportunity to compete in each event.
Using the currently (as of 4/18/19) posted schedule, competition is set to begin on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Several field events will move indoors to Wake Field House across town at the University of Lynchburg. Lynchburg will also host the javelin. Randolph will be the site for the 10,000-meter runs on Friday evening.
Saturday's start time is currently slated for field events at 9:00 a.m. and track events at 10:15 a.m. with all events conducted at Randolph. Those times could be altered based on how much competition took place on Friday afternoon/evening. Updates will be made as needed and as they become available. There will be a conference video stream available for the track events and some field events on Saturday only.
RELATED: 2019 Event Schedule | Video Stream
Last season's team champions are certainly no strangers to the awards stand. Lynchburg racked up its ninth overall women's crown, although its 195-165 win over Bridgewater marked the Hornets first women's trophy since 2011. Bridgewater's margin of victory in the men's competition was tighter by half as the Eagles claimed their 10th overall piece of hardware via a 198-184 spread over Washington and Lee. It was third time in the last four years that BC hoisted the men's league prize.
End of season awards were split between track athletes and field competitors for the first time in ODAC history. All four honors will feature new athletes as each 2018 honoree has moved on via graduation. Men's Rookie of the Year will also feature a new individual, while Roanoke All-American Quinn Harlan competes in her second league meet after earning the women's top rookie award last year.
ODAC athletes compete in 36 indivdual events (18 men, 18 women) in the conference's championship format. Seventeen winners of those events head to Lynchburg, with that list dominated by 12 returning women's winners. In addition to Roanoke's Harlan in the 100-meter dash, that contingent includes Endasia Mitchell (LYN) in the 400-meter dash, Samantha Yates (W&L) in the 5000-meter run, Kaitlyn Johnson (LYN) in the 10,000-meter event, Emily Valle (BC) in the 100-meter hurdles, Calista Ariel (BC) in the steeplechase, Mara Briggs (RC) in the high jump, Tye Meador (BC) in the long jump, Sydne Moseley (BC) in the shot put, Jennifer Calascione (RC) in the discus, Nicole Moughrabi (RC) in the hammer, and Rachel Murray (LYN) in the javelin.
The five men's event winners returning to compete in this year's championships are Jamie Hiegel (BC) in the 10,000-meter run, Darren Petty (RAND) in the 110-meter hurdles, Justin Mehrer (SU) in the steeplechase, Davonta Womack (BC) in the long jump, and Grant Amoateng (EMU) in the triple jump.
RELATED: 2018 Championship Results | 2018 Event Winners
Predicting the ODAC Championships is never an easy task. As a new way to benchmark each ODAC team entering the championship weekend, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) has expanded its suite of rankings using the DirectAthletics/TFRRS timing system to including an intra-conference snapshot of each league in the country. Athletes earn points for their schools based on their performances in each event and ranking in that event against other athletes from conference teams. The points are added up with a ranking from most-to-least points determining a team's spot in the table.
Lynchburg tops both the men's and women's charts with 1,272.47 and 1,695.58 points, respectively. The Hornets total is nearly double that of second-place Washington and Lee (864.42) in the latter table. Lynchburg's lofty women's point total is largely due to its athletes posting 60 personal season-best performances that rank inside the ODAC's top-10 across all events.
Below is a link to both of those tables on the USTFCCCA website, as well as a quick snapshot at how each team got there. Listed are each team's top-five (and ties) ODAC rankings across all events. To see a team's full breakdown, click on one of the links below, scroll down to the ODAC, and click on the point total for that team to see its overall rankings page in comparison to the other ODAC teams.
USTFCCCA Track & Field Rating Index (TFRI) Charts: Men | Women
For more information, 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.
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| TFRI Point Total | 750.92 | TFRI Point Total | 1,203.07 | TFRI Point Total | 399.07 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TFRI Point Total | 334.01 | TFRI Point Total | 35.96 | TFRI Point Total | 215.39 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TFRI Point Total | 121.88 | TFRI Point Total | 152.68 | TFRI Point Total | 1,695.58 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TFRI Point Total | 1,272.47 | TFRI Point Total | 277.81 | TFRI Point Total | 323.55 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TFRI Point Total | 708.06 | TFRI Point Total | 394.17 | TFRI Point Total | 485.49 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TFRI Point Total | 359.68 | TFRI Point Total | 250.70 | TFRI Point Total | 561.40 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| TFRI Point Total | 864.42 | TFRI Point Total | 986.88 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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