2011 Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week

  • ASHLEY ALLEN, Lynchburg, Senior, Throws
    April 18, 2011
    Allen, a senior from Richmond, Va., broke her own school record in the hammer with a heave of 163' 7 ½" Sunday evening at High Point. She won the event, besting 11 other competitors, most from Division I. The throw set a new ODAC top mark by nearly seven feet, and eclipsed the NCAA provisional qualifying mark by 2.18 meters (49.88 throw, standard is 47.70).
  • JOHNATHAN SMITH, Guilford, Freshman, Sprints
    April 18, 2011
    Smith, a freshman from Conyers, Ga., earns his second ODAC weekly honor of the season. He ran the ODAC’s fastest time this season in the 200-meter dash, placing second in a 27-man field at the High Point VertKlasse Meeting in 21.80, the fastest time in school history. His time broke the previous mark of 21.9, set by David Sheppard in 1971. Smith had the top Division III finish in the race, and also placed third among 21 runners in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.97 seconds, his third sub-11 second time of the season in the discipline. He missed the win by three-hundredths of a second. Smith currently owns the nation's 10th-best 100-meter time of 10.75 seconds set earlier this year. His 21.80 200-meter time is just .04 seconds from provisionally qualifying for nationals and cracking the nation's top-ten.
  • KRYSTLE LANDES, Lynchburg, Senior, Javelin
    April 11, 2011
    Landes, a senior from Staunton, Va., provisionally qualified for the 2011 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the javelin following her performance at the Lynchburg Track Classic. Landes fired the apparatus 39.45 meters (129'5") to win the event. Her throw is 20'6" farther than the next closest in the ODAC this season and is currently ranked as the 20th-best toss in NCAA Division III this season.
  • RACHAD DAVIS, Lynchburg, Freshman, Hurdles
    April 11, 2011
    Davis, a freshman from Virginia Beach, Va., competed in and won both hurdle events at the Lynchburg Track Classic over the weekend. In the 110-meter high hurdles, he posted a time of 15.15 seconds, setting a new conference season-best mark. He went on to run 56.35 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles, out-pacing his closest competitor by .84 seconds. Davis also ran a leg in the Hornets' 4x400-meter relay, helping LC to second place in a time of 3:21.84.
  • CARMEN GRAVES, Roanoke, Sophomore, Sprints
    April 04, 2011
    Graves, a sophomore from Christiansburg, Va., picks up her second outdoor weekly award of the season. Graves placed second overall and first among NCAA Division III runners in the 800-meter run at the Liberty Collegiate Invitational. She posted a time of 2:16.76, just .19 second slower than her ODAC-best seasonal time in the event.
  • SEAN WHITSON, Virginia Wesleyan, Junior, Distance
    April 04, 2011
    Whitson, a junior from Stephens City, Va., turned in another stellar effort, this time in the 10,000 meter run at the Colonial Relays hosted by the College of William and Mary. He finished 10th in the race as the only Division III runner in the field of 21. He smashed his own VWC record time of 32:05.05, finishing in a time of 30:58.60. His time is currently the fifth fastest nationally in DIII and is VWC’s first provisional national qualifier in track and field.
  • WHITNEY FITZWATER, Roanoke, Senior, Throws
    March 28, 2011
    Fitzwater, a senior from Middletown, Del., posted a pair of victories at the Jopson Invitational, setting a new meet and facility record in the process. Fitzwater won the hammer throw with a toss of 47.64 meters (156'3"), setting the meet and Jopson Stadium facility record in the discipline. She later went on to win the javelin with a throw of 31.80 meter (104'4"). Fitzerwater competed in two more events, finishing fourth in the discus (30.93 meters/101'6") and fifth in the shot put (10.12 meters/33'2.5").
  • JOHN MICHAEL PAVIA, Lynchburg, Senior, Throws
    March 28, 2011
    Pavia, a senior from Forest, Va., competed in the NCAA Divsion I-heavy Richmond Invitational over the weekend. He set a new ODAC season top time in the hammer, tossing the apparatus 52.29 meters (171'7") to place second overall and first amongst Division III competitors. Pavia's throw narrowly missed the NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 53.00 meters. The throw out-distances the ODAC's second-best toss by more than 16 feet.
  • CARMEN GRAVES, Roanoke, Sophomore, Jumps/Sprints
    March 21, 2011
    Graves, a sophomore from Christiansburg, Va., won a pair of individual events and helped Roanoke to two relay victories as the Roanoke Invitational over the weekend. Graves won the triple jump with a leap of 11.10 meters (36'4.5"), and added a victory in the long jump at 5.07 meters (16'7"). She also competed in the 200-meter dash, placing third with a time of 26.94 seconds. Graves helped the Maroons to wins in the 4x100-meters (51.34) and 4x400-meters (4:13.59) relays.
  • JOHNATHAN SMITH, Guilford, Freshman, Sprints
    March 21, 2011
    Smith, a freshman from Conyers, Ga., ran the fastest outdoor Division III 100-meters time in the nation (10.75) to qualify for the finals at the Wake Forest Open this past week, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA championships in the process. He finished seventh in the finals with a 10.84-second dash, tops among NCAA Division III competition. His 10.75 is the second-fastest time in school history. Smith ran a 22.12 in the 200-meter dash, which placed 24th overall and No. 1 amongst D-III athletes. It is the second-fastest time in Guilford history. Smith finished his day by running the second leg for Guilford’s 400-meter relay team that finished 19th with a time of 45.05.