Harrisonburg, Va. – The University of Lynchburg men's track & field team tallied the second-most points ever recorded at an Old Dominion Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships to secure the team's fifth-straight title!

Lynchburg's men's squad earned 273 points to defeat second-place Washington & Lee by 160 points. The Hornets' ladies placed second behind W&L by scoring 165 points.

Men's Team

On the men's side, the team boasted a first-place finisher in 10 of the 20 scored events. The Hornets solidified several conference championship records to follow up four ODAC records posted by the distance team earlier in the season.

Lynchburg has now captured a triple crown, or sweep of conference titles in the cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field seasons, for the fourth consecutive year.

The Hornets toppled three men's championship records, courtesy of performances from the 4x100m relay team, Tor Hotung-Davidsen in the 800m run and Chasen Hunt in the 5,000m run.

In the 4x100m relay, Lynchburg's Tristan Wright soared down the final straightaway to oust 11-time ODAC champ Brady Fowler for Roanoke and steal first place in 40.96. The time is the 16th-fastest in DIII by a 4x100m relay crew, and the top 16 qualify for the NCAA Championships. Michael Hamm, Jaylen Jones, Nick Raya and Tristan Wright combined to usher in the win for the Hornets.

Tor Hotung-Davidsen headlined an 800m run that saw three Hornets finish inside the top four. Hotung-Davidsen, racing just his third meet of the season after claiming a 1:48.57 ODAC record in Azusa, clocked 1:50.71 to break his previous meet record by two seconds. Teammate Sam Llaneza earned second place with a 1:52.00 result, which would have claimed the meet record before Hotung-Davidsen's performance. Jamison Mantooth finished fourth in 1:53.92 for a personal best.

Chasen Hunt continued his 5k dominance around the oval with a dominant 18-second victory over the field. Hunt registered 14:38.40 for a new meet record after a fiery trio of laps in the middle of the race, separating from close competitors from W&L. Marko Kovacevic (15:19.73), Alex Jordan (15:19.94) and Aidan Riggle (15:25.44) combined to finish fifth-through-seventh, respectively.

Tristan Wright, the 100m and 200m school record holder, clocked 10.39 in the 100m final to earn the conference crown; Jaylen Jones joined the podium in third with a 10.51 result. Wright's time would have been sixth-fastest in the nation heading into the weekend.

The distance team offered an incredible display in the men's 1500m by occupying the top seven spots in the event. Marko Kovacevic won the race with a 3:58.96 finish after the pack stayed intact throughout the race. Randy White ran 3:59.55 for second while Cooper Hurst completed the podium with an identical time for third. Chasen Hunt (4:00.11), Tor Hotung-Davidson (4:00.33), Sam Llaneza (4:01.83) and Jack Weddle (4:03.11) combined to fill the top seven.

Cooper Hurst claimed first in the men's steeplechase with a 9:36.74 performance; Hurst also won the 2024 men's steeplechase. Josh Fretwell clocked 9:48.63 for third. 

Despite racing through a downpour, Aidan Riggle emerged victorious in the men's 10k to the tune of a 31.38.07 season-best time. Alex Jordan also joined the podium in third with a 31:46.04 performance, while Cameron Sidebotham (31:59.87) and Alex Paciello (32:22.75) finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Hornets placed two in the top eight of the men's 400m dash: Michael Hamm clocked 48.22 for second place while Jacob Hodnett ran 50.11 for seventh.

Micah Leech scored in the men's 110m hurdle finals, crossing the line in fifth with a 15.82 result. The sophomore ran 15.10 in prelims to solidify a personal best.

Tristan Wright finished second in the men's 200m dash with a 21.44 performance, joined by third-place Michael Hamm (21.83) and fourth-place Jaylen Jones (21.85). Nick Raya also contributed points, scoring in seventh place (22.25).

The men's 4x400m relay team wrapped up track action on Saturday with a fourth-place finish in 3:21.88.

On the field side, three men finished as event champions for the Hornets. Leech won the men's long jump, leaping 6.93m (22' 9") for the conference title; Demetri Hinton placed fifth (6.60m or 21' 8") while Guillermo Martino earned sixth (6.59m or 21' 7½"). Hinton would go on to win Saturday's men's triple jump final with a 14.31m (46' 1½") mark; Jeremiah Glaspie placed fifth (13.64m or 44' 9"). 

Jamarcus Brown conquered the conference crown in the men's high jump, finishing at the 2.04m (6' 8¼") bar. Elijah Rose (2.01m or 6' 7") earned second place and Jaren Lee (1.98m or 6' 6") filed behind for third to complete the podium. Freshman Aidan Hipp finished eighth (1.85m or 6' ¼").

Micah Leech continued his field event success in the men's pole vault, finishing third at 4.31m (14' 1¾"). Julian Powell earned fourth (4.16m or 13' 7¾"). 

Three Hornets finished inside the top eight of three men's javelin, headlined by Jacob Hodnett's second-place efforts with a 48.83m (160' 2") throw.

Women's Team

Betsy Mohnkern led the charge for the women's team with a crucial performance in the women's 100 hurdles for NCAA qualifying. The grad student clocked 14.07 in prelims, a new DIII fourth-fastest time, and 14.13 in finals to defeat the second finisher by three-fourths of a second. Margo Fox crossed the line in sixth with a personal-best 15.67 result.

Mohnkern also helped the women's 4x100 squad to a conference title in 47.19. The Hornets' squad of Kacey Kelly, Betsy Mohnkern, Kiara Smith and Rylee Turner solidified the 17th-fastest team in the nation heading into the week. The Lynchburg 4x400m relay team would finish second place later in the meet, clocking 4:00.80.

Rylee Turner scored in the 100m and 200m dash; the junior crossed the line in fourth for the 100 (12.43) and fourth in the 200m (25.58), competing in four events at this year's meet.

The distance side prevailed with two conference titles. Allison Dell glided to a 37:14.47 win in the women's 10,000m, while teammate Delaney Saulsbury sealed fourth with a 38:51.19 result. Georgie Lanham earned seventh, clocking 39:44.60.

Courtney Drumm returned after racing just one meet during the regular season, winning the women's 800m in 2:19.44. Hannah Edwards fell after being clipped by an opponent, but the sophomore recovered to run 2:22.73 for sixth.

In the 5,000m, Adelynn Carpenter gave a valiant chase for the conference title and relished a 17:38.08 personal best for second. After racing the 10k on Friday night, Allison Dell returned the next afternoon for an 18:16.56 performance.

To cap the track events, three Hornets scored in the women's 400m hurdles. Betsy Mohnkern placed third (1:04.99), Margo Fox collected fourth (1:06.77) and Anna Miller finished fifth (1:09.89).

Kacey Kelly repeated as the women's triple jump champion, setting a 12.09 (39' 8" mark). The junior also placed third in the women's javelin (36.60m or 120' 1").

Margo Fox led the way in the women's long jump with a 5.50m (18' ½") leap for first. Kacey Kelly earned second (5.45m or 17' 10¾") while Kiara Smith placed sixth (5.22m or 17' 1½").

Kenzie Swicegood contributed points from the throws squad, finishing third in the women's discus (39.15m or 128' 5') and fifth in the women's shot put (11.07m or 36' 4"). She also sneaked into scoring position of the women's hammer throw, cracking a 40.40m (132' 6") throw for eighth.

Lynchburg will continue looking to set final marks ahead of the NCAA Championships as the team hosts the Hill City Twilight on Friday, May 2.

For full results from the ODAC Championships, click here.

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--LYN--