
For Immediate Release - 4/18/09 - #333
Lynchburg Men's Track & Field Captures 23rd ODAC Championship
LEXINGTON, VA - The Lynchburg College men's track and field team captured its 23rd Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) championship Saturday, as Dr. Jack Toms was awarded as conference Coach of the Year.
On Friday night, Lynchburg finished the first day with a narrow lead over Bridgewater College thanks to consistent contributions across the board. Brandon Demers (Cypress, TX/Leonardtown) finished third in the steeplechase with a time of 10:01.77.
The jumpers for LC fared well, as James Bell (Huddleston, VA/Staunton River) finished third in the high jump and Earl Graves (Richmond, VA/Hermitage) took fifth. Graves took fourth in the long jump as well, while Brandon Edwards (Warrenton, VA/Fauquier) booked a jump of 6.53 meters for third place.
The throwers scored highly for the Hornets on Friday, as John Michael Pavia (Forest, VA/Jefferson Forest) earned fourth place in the shot put and third place in the hammer throw. Dan Reid (Hamilton, MA/Hamilton-Wenhom) also scored eight points in the hammer, finishing second with a toss of 46.68 meters.
In Saturday action, Lynchburg pulled away from Bridgewater as the Hornets got great finishes form their runners. Bell finished second in the 110 hurdles with a 15.43, while newcomer Kevonte Warner (Scottsville, VA/Buckingham Co.) placed third in 15.67. LC dominated the 400 meter race, as the Hornets had five of the six top finishers, led by Graves and his 49.31.
Edwards again scored well in the 100 and 200 meters, as he took second place in both events running the 100 in a time of 10.82, which is the fourth fastest time in LC history. Lynchburg also fared well in the javelin throw, as Chris Giannone (Basking Ridge, NJ/Ridge) won the event with a throw of 51.57 meters.
Edwards was back at it in the triple jump, provisionally qualifying for Nationals with a distance of 14.77 meters. Bell won the pole vault with a height of 4.12 meters as the Hornets took the top four spots in that event, and Pavia, Reid and Greg Viscome (Troutman, NC/Pawling) all scored for LC in the discus.
Ricky Flynn (Gaithersburg, MD/Damascus) set a new ODAC meet record with a time of 3:59.74 in the 1500 meters, while Ryan Van Alstine (Midland Park, NJ/Midland Park) won the 5000 meter run in thrilling fashion, posting a 15:46.75, which was a ¼ of a second ahead of the second place finisher.
In the relay events, Lynchburg won both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay events, as Rashard Adams (Ashburn, VA/Stone Bridge), Edwards, Evan Ellison (Atlanta, GA/McCallie) and Graves teamed to run a 42.10 in the 4x100. In the 4x400, Adams ran with Todd Apgar (Somers, NY/Somers), James Averette (Midlothian, VA/James River) and Bell for a top time of 3:21.98.
The ODAC title was LC's 11th in the last 12 years, and also the Hornets 18th in the last 20 years. The Hornets will travel to the Penn Relays this Thursday through Saturday in Philadelphia, PA.
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