BRIDGEWATER, Va. --- Much like Bridgewater College last season, Washington and Lee University continues a trend of winning championships and then hosting the next season. The Generals lifted both the men's and women's trophies following strong performances in the 2015 conference meet and will now take their turn hosting the 2016 ODAC Cross Country Championships at Vista Links Golf Course in Buena Vista, Va.
All conference competitors will compete on a two-kilometer loop (course map) laid out amongst the course's rolling hills on the back nine. The men will open the competition with their eight-kilometer race at 10:00 a.m. ET, completing the loop four times upon finishing. The women will circle the grounds one fewer time during their six-kilometer competition, which is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. ET.
Timing will be provided by Blue Ridge Timing and posted to the results site as soon as each race concludes.
ODAC Championships Site Host Site by Washington and Lee
Eight Generals picked up All-ODAC honors in leading W&L to its 15th women's ODAC crown and 10th men's conference title. Samantha Yates and Maggie Seybold finished second and fourth, respectively, to earn All-ODAC First Team honors and lead the Generals to the top of the women's team standings with just 46 points, 18 clear of second place Bridgewater (64). Rachel Steffen and Lily Arnold added to W&L's showing with 10th and 12th place performances.
One thing is certain about the 2016 women's race...there will be a new individual champion. Last season's winner Hannah Chappell-Dick (EMU) and previous two-time tape-cutter Kaylee Kubisiak (BC) are now under alumni status at their respective institutions, leaving the field without a previous champion. All four of W&L's all-conference runners from 2015 are set for a shot at the top, but will be challenged by several others. Among those are four other returning All-ODAC standouts, led by Roanoke College's trio of Kerri Dalton (5th), Caity Ashley (8th) and Claire Brooks (9th). Eastern Mennonite University's Kat Lehman chimed in ninth.
Entering the event, Dalton his highest ranked all-conference returner this season, having posted a personal season-best 6K time of 22:43.0. Still, that mark is bested by a pair of relative newcomers in Lynchburg College's Samantha Schreiber and Virginia Wesleyan College's Marissa Coombs. Schreiber, in her first season at LC, posted an ODAC season-low 22:28.7 in Oberlin. Coombs, who fully dedicated her time to cross country this season after participating in the Marlins' soccer program in the past, owns the second-best time at 22:43.0. She'll be looking to improve upon a 41st-place finish last season.
Yates (22:45.5) and Seybold (22:52.8), along with Generals teammate Kirsten McMichael (23:07.10), are strongly positioned for a run at the top of the league. Lynchburg's Morgan Alvis (23:01.4) showed well in several events, much like Shenandoah University's Shelby Shrader (23:15.3). RC's Brooks (23:22.3) will be looking to jump in to the top-seven and earn first team honors, while EMU's Lehman (23:29.9) hopes to continue her climb after recovering from injury.
On the men's side, Washington and Lee's win in 2015 was much tighter than in the women's competition, with the just eight points separating the first, second and third place teams. W&L had four runners earn All-ODAC reconition, helping them to 48 points. Bridgewater also featured four all-conference athletes, leaving them just two points shy (50) of the Generals. Lynchburg also saw a resurgence, placing three runners inside the event's top-14 on the way to 56 points.
Both Washington and Lee and Bridgewater welcome back three of their all-conference performers, with 10 in total set to compete at Vista Links. Ian McDonald (2nd) -- the 2014 ODAC individual champion -- and Mac Strehler (7th) picked up first team honors, with Alex Dolwick (12th) capping W&L's returners from the second team. Trey Gibson (3rd) and Jamie Hiegel (4th) are returning first team Eagles, along with second team partner Connor Maguder (14th). Lynchburg's duo of Andrew Osborne (6th) and Drew Smith (8th) are back for another go, while EMU's Alec Thibodeaux (10th) and VWC's Trevor Maloney (11th) add further all-league punch to the men's competition.
This season, W&L's Strehler has been blistering courses as he owns the conference's top 8K time at 24:56.7. EMU's pair of Thibodeaux (25:25.5) and newcomer Abrham Armine (25:27.0) split two from LC in Joshua Shaw (25:10.8) and Smith (25:27.6). Four of the remaining five in the top-10 don W&L blue and white, with MacKenzye Leroy (25:28.0), Phillip Harmon (25:37.6), Cooper Baird (25:48.7) and McDonald (25:56.6) boosting the Generals' contingent. LC gets a shot in the arm with Osborne (25:32.5) positioned well. Bridgewater will be looking to Hiegel (25:25.2), Gibson (26:22.9), and Maguder (26z:53.0) to continue recent trends that have seen their performances ramp up in anticipation of the postseason.
For more information on ODAC cross country and the 2016 championships, visit the websites of any of the participating schools. You can also visit the home of the ODAC on the Internet at www.odaconline.com and view the ODAC cross country championship website. Don't forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook, follow @odacathletics on Twitter and Instagram!