Bridgewater, Va. -- University of Lynchburg men's outdoor track & field senior Tor Hotung-Davidsen ran the first lap of the men's 10,000-meter run for his teammate Frank Csorba on Friday night during Day 1 of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference men's and women's outdoor track & field championships. Csorba was entered into the event after passing away on Tuesday.

Csorba was the school and conference record holder in the 10k, had the fastest time in the conference this season, and held the meet record at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship. Csorba was a six-time All-American and a seven-time ODAC champion between cross country, indoor, and outdoor track & field. He was also on Lynchburg's national championship distance medley relay at the NCAA 2024 indoor track & field championships. Hotung-Davidsen and Csorba competed together on the 2023 DMR squad that finished fourth and earned All-America honors at the national meet a year ago. Csorba and Hotung-Davidsen did not get to compete in the 2024 DMR together due to an injury to Hotung-Davidsen.

Hotung-Davidsen missed all of the outdoor track & field regular season with the injury but made his emotional return to the track to run for Csorba late Friday night. Hotung-Davidsen completed the opening lap in just over 60 seconds. Before crossing the finish line, he outstretched his arms and blew a kiss towards the darkening skies above the track. It was an emotional moment for one of Csorba's closest friends, and after crossing the finish line well ahead of the rest of the pack, Hotung-Davidsen ran straight into the arms of his and Csorba's coach, Jake Reed. Hotung-Davidsen and Reed stood on the track embraced in a hug for a long while as the rest of the pack veered into the second of 25 laps.

In that pack of 24 athletes were more of Csorba's teammates, Jonathan Cobb, Aidan Riggle, Bryce Davis, Draven Fernandez and Sam Graham. Several of the Hornets were donning backwards caps for the race, just as their beloved teammate Csorba was so often and so famously known to do. Eminem's "Lose Yourself" played as the race began which was one of Csorba's favorite songs. Hotung-Davidsen and Cobb shadow boxed on the start line before the race, just as Csorba did. Cobb went on to win the race with a 31:10.87. Cobb, Davis, and Riggle finished first, second, and fourth, respectively, and all broke Csorba's meet record time. Watch the opening lap of the men's 10k here. 

Hotung-Davidsen and his teammates in the 10k will not be the last Hornets to run for Frank (or "Run Like Frank") this weekend in Bridgewater. The men's and women's teams are seeking a fourth consecutive sweep of the ODAC outdoor championships and competing in Csorba's memory.

The Hornets are coming off a third straight sweep of the indoor championships, where Csorba played a pivotal role in the win on the men's side with a win in the 5,000-meter run, a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter run, and a third-place finish in the mile. 

Since the outdoor championships in 2021, the Lynchburg men's and women's teams have swept the outdoor, indoor, and cross country championships each season. That's 18 championships in a three-year span and three consecutive years of winning every championship. The streak began at the 2021 outdoor championships and a sweep of both titles at this year's championship meet will begin Lynchburg's quest of sweeping each championship for a fourth year in a row. 

Earlier in the day Friday, Cooper Hurst won the first event of the championships for the Hornets, crossing the finish line in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:27.75. Josh Fretwell placed third. Allison Dell claimed the women's first event championship of the weekend with a 36:24.86 in the 10k. That marked a meet record.

Logan Babbs earned a bronze medal in the shot put with a 39' 9.5" mark. Elijah Rose also garnered a bronze medal in the high jump at 6' 1.5".

Aniya Seward qualified for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles with a meet record time of 13.92. Betsy Mohnkern also earned a spot in the finals Saturday with a 14.59. In other preliminary events, Vuronika Barnes qualified for the 400-meter dash finals, as did Gabriel Kwayke and Jacob Hodnett in the men's race. Seward and Jaylen Jones qualified for their respective finals of the 100-meter dash. Mohnkern earned a second finals spot after placing second in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles, and Seward earned her third finals position in the 200-meter dash. Jones capped off the preliminary events with another bid into a finals race, earning a spot in the men's 200m finals. 

See the full results from Day 1 here. 

The men's team is in second place with 52 points, and the women are in third with 34. The Hornets get back in action for Day 2 on Saturday, April 27 with the first event beginning at 10 a.m.

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--LYN--