Geneva, Ohio – Tor Hotung-Davidsen and Chasen Hunt surged to their first individual NCAA titles on a busy final day from the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the SPIRE Academy track facility.

Hotung-Davidsen bested a men's 1,500m field featuring four of the top eight 1,500m athletes in Division III history based on top marks. In the men's 5,000m, Hunt's national title supplements his DIII record in the event from the Bryan Clay Invitational in April.

Lynchburg had not claimed two national titles at the same NCAA Championships since the 1999 Outdoor Championships when the 4x400m relay team earned gold, along with Safwan Williams' first-place performance in the 400m hurdles.

The Hornets tallied four First-Team All-American performances for the men's team, while Betsy Mohnkern and Kacey Kelly received first-team honors on the women's side. Allison Dell, Sam Llaneza, Tristan Wright and Cooper Hurst each received Second-Team All-American honors for placing within the top 16.

Saturday afternoon commenced with a men's 1,500m that featured Tor Hotung-Davidsen and Sam Llaneza, two grad students competing in their final meet for Lynchburg. 

The pair sat in the middle of the pack for the first two laps, inching into third and fourth place with 800 meters remaining. The field's pedestrian pace opened the door for Hotung-Davidsen to close quickly within the final lap, accelerating with a 55-second 400 meters to clinch the national crown.

Llaneza finished eighth in the field, crossing the line in 3:50.70 to earn his 10th All-American honor as a Hornet. With this race, he tied James Goss for the most All-American accolades by a Lynchburg athlete.

Hotung-Davidsen cements his first individual title after finishing as the runner-up two times in the men's 800m run at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The grad student missed the 2024 track season due to an injury, though he returned to post the most successful season of his career.

In May, Hotung-Davidsen broke the 4-minute barrier in the mile with a 3:58.35 performance, becoming the fastest in Division III history. He also slotted the fifth-fastest men's 1,500m performance in DIII history when he clocked 3:42.12 at the Bryan Clay Invitational.

Chasen Hunt's 14:10.51 performance in the men's 5,000m proved to be another tactical race, with Hunt closing the final 800 meters in two minutes and two seconds, on par for 4:05 mile pace. Hunt, having run 13:41.96 earlier in the season, comfortably sat in the middle of the pack before advancing with a kilometer remaining. 

Within the final two laps, he manufactured a five-second gap from the rest of the field.

The 5,000m crown is Hunt's second victory at an NCAA Championships after he brought home the men's distance medley relay title at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Kacey Kelly leaped to sixth place in the women's triple jump, setting a 40' 2¾" (12.26m) mark. Kelly lept 12.34m at the NCAA Championships for third place, and she has now qualified for four NCAA Championships as a junior.

Betsy Mohnkern earned a First-Team All-American honor for the first time in her career in the final collegiate race. The grad student clocked 14.18 to finish in eighth place, a day after setting her outdoor personal best with a 14.04 time.

Mohnkern placed 11th at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60m hurdles, and throughout her career, claimed nine Old Dominion Athletic Conference titles across outdoor and indoor.

Tristan Wright raced to a 10.55 performance in the men's 100m dash, finishing as a Second-Team All-American. Wright holds school records in the 100m and 200m dash, setting the new marks in his first outdoor meet as a Hornet. He also anchored the men's 4x100m relay team that won the ODAC Championships and set a new program record, crossing the line in 40.96.

To cap the 2025 season, Sam Llaneza doubled back in the men's 800m to finish ninth in the final. Llaneza earned a 1:51.76  time, despite being the only man in the field to have run another event earlier in the day.

Lynchburg finishes the season with two national champions and 12 First-Team All-American performances between the indoor and outdoor seasons.

For full results from the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Geneva, click here.

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--LYN--