The men’s track and field team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) outdoor track and field championship Saturday at LC. The win is the program’s 26th overall and the 21st in 23 years.
James Bell carried his solid Friday performance over to Saturday, as he won the pole vault championship with a height of 15’3″. Fellow Hornet Nathan Curtis cleared 14′ to capture the bronze in the event. Bell then finished runner-up in the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 15.21, to earn LC another eight points.
In those 110 meter hurdles, Rachad Davis seized the title in a time of 14.84, which currently puts him 12th in the nation. Davis then went out and set the ODAC record, and a new personal best, in the 400 meter hurdles race. He ran it in 43.71, a time good enough for 11th in the country. Davis also helped the 4×100 meter relay team finish third. Davis, Zachary Kezar, Tristian Boysaw, and Evan Ellison ran the event in a time of 42.90.
In other events, LC captured the top two spots in the 1500 meter race. Nolan Compton won in a time of 4:02.20 and William Orndorff was runner-up, finishing in 4:03.07. Boysaw won the bronze in the triple jump, leaping a distance of 43’7″. In the 400 meter dash, Ellison finished second in a time of 50.32. The last event of the day saw the Hornets win the 4×400 meter relay race. The team of Edmond Hawi, AJ Mills, Jesse Lieberman, and Vinny Mwano won with a time of 3:21.05.
For the throwers, Greg Wilson finished a great meet, winning the discus challenge with a toss of 143’1″. The throw, a new personal best, was even more surprising in it came during a torrential downpour. Leslie Waddy received the bronze in the event, finishing with a distance of 126’2″.
After the win, head mentor Doug Thomasey was named Coach of the Year. This is his sixth ODAC Coach of the Year award, spanning cross country, indoor, and outdoor track and field.
Thewomen’s team finished in second place with a total of 114.8 points in the competition. Roanoke College took the team title with 145.3 points. Read more.
