Azusa, Calif. – Chasen Hunt's blazing 13:41.96 men's 5k performance established a new national record at the Bryan Clay Invitational, one of five Old Dominion Athletic Conference records set by the Hornets in their trip to the West!

Competing in his junior outdoor season, Hunt journeyed to a 19-second personal best and conquered Alex Phillips' previous DIII record of 13:47.41. Holding a 4:24 pace throughout the race and finishing with a 61-second final lap, the Lynchburg native now holds the fastest DIII time of the season by 15 seconds.

While Hunt began racing at 1:34 a.m. ET, he was far from the only Hornet keeping spectators awake for record-breaking results. A night later, the men's 1,500m featured Sam Llaneza and Tor Hotung-Davidsen, who unlocked top-10 finishes on the DIII all-time list. 

Hotung-Davidsen, following a five-second personal best at the Jack Toms Invitational, clocked 3:42.12 to seal a conference record and ran his final 400m in 56 seconds; Sam Llaneza followed closely behind with a 3:42.97 performance. The Hornets' times now sit fourth and sixth, respectively, in the top-10 times in DIII history.

With the PRs, Hotung-Davidsen and Llaneza's times would both convert to a sub-four minute mile time, the first in Lynchburg history.

Hunt clocked 3:45.07 just a day removed from his extraordinary 5k finish. Coming into the weekend, the time would be the fifth-fastest in DIII this season.

To begin the three-day meet on Wednesday morning, senior Allison Dell clinched the women's 10,000m conference record with a monumental 34:57.06 mark, a personal best by one minute and 27 seconds. Dell kept her first 24 lap splits within a three-second range heading into the final 400m, capping the effort with her fastest lap of the race.

Formerly competing at the NCAA Championships in the women's 5k, Dell sits in an optimal position for the 10k heading into the postseason. Before incoming results from the weekend, the senior's time would stand sixth-fastest in DIII.

Cooper Hurst carried the energy into the evening with a 9:01.76 men's 3,000m steeplechase ODAC record. Previously held by 2023 graduate Connor McCroy, Hurst shaved seven seconds off the conference record and eight ticks off his previous PR. Wednesday's result is just the first steeplechase mark Hurst has registered during this outdoor campaign.

Tor Hotung-Davidsen led the way to more historic results on Thursday with the running of the men's 800m. The grad student from Oakton, Va. dipped under 1:49 for the first time in his career, clocking 1:48.47 and cracking his previous conference record by half a second. 

Hotung-Davidsen's time is the 10th-fastest in DIII outdoor history, and following his runner-up performance at the NCAA Indoor Championships, he possesses a golden chance to claim the national title.

Four of the five conference records claimed by the Hornets in California were previously held by Lynchburg athletes. With the ODAC Championships arriving next weekend, every athlete who competed at Bryan Clay holds a current time that would qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio.

For full results from the Bryan Clay Invitational, click here.

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--LYN--