Cleveland, Ohio -- The University of Lynchburg athletic department earned its best finish in the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup for the second year in a row announced Tuesday. 

The Hornets cracked the top-20 for the first time ever and finished 19th out of 322 schools. The Hornets placed 39th last year, marking a 20-spot jump fueled by the postseason success of Lynchburg intercollegiate teams in 2023-24. The LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, a creation of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics and USA Today, awards points for each of a program's finishes in NCAA championship competition.

The Hornets began the 2023-24 campaign in 18th place after the fall season. The women's cross country team led the way with 72 points after its seventh-place finish at the national championship in November. The men earned 69 points after also cracking the top-10 at the championship meet. Both teams raced to the highest finishes in the programs' histories. The field hockey team, led by legendary hall of fame head coach Enza Steele in her 45th and final season, reached the national quarterfinals for the sixth time in program history. The Hornets won their 22nd conference title to earn a trip to the national tournament and won two games in the championship bracket. The men's soccer team also won the ODAC championship and hosted a pod of first-round matches in the national tournament.

Led by the program's first track championship since 2014, Lynchburg was in 20th place of the LEARFIELD standings after the winter season. Claire Galloway secured 32 points for the Hornets as she made the women's swimming program's first appearance in the NCAA Division III championships. The men's indoor track & field team brought in 71.3 points after placing seventh as a team in March at the indoor national meet. 

Five teams scored points towards Lynchburg's final total during the spring, thrusting Lynchburg back up the leaderboard into 19th place, securing a historic finish for the Hornets. The baseball team returned to the national championship after winning the team's first title a season ago. This year, Lynchburg finished third at the baseball championship and brought home 83 points. The men's golf team placed 11th in the NCAA championship after making its first appearance in the national tournament since 1989. The men's lacrosse team made the NCAA Tournament for a 12th consecutive year and placed ninth after its second-round victory over Pfeiffer on Shellenberger Field. The men's and women's outdoor track & field teams contributed the final 73.1 points to Lynchburg's grand total of 625.35 after impressive showings at the outdoor championships in mid-May. Sam Llaneza won his second national championship of the school year, winning the 1,500-meter run. Chasen Hunt placed third in the 5,000-meter run, and Aniya Seward was an All-American in the 100-meter hurdles.

Fueling Lynchburg's most successful year by LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standards were the Hornets' 13 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships and 24 All-Americans. The Hornets won 214 contests overall with a .609 winning percentage across all of its intercollegiate programs in 2023-24. Out of the 11 ODAC schools to earn points towards the LEARFIELD Directors' Cup, Lynchburg was second to only Washington and Lee in 16th place. The Hornets tallied 335.35 more points than the third-place ODAC school in 73rd. The ODAC altogether boasts four teams in the top-100 with 2,432.60 points combined from its 11 schools. Lynchburg accounted for 25% of the conference's points. 

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--LYN--