Washington and Lee University
LEXINGTON, Va. - The Washington and Lee men's and women's outdoor track and field teams competed in the 2009 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship on Friday and Saturday at Wilson Field. The Generals claimed 26 All-ODAC citations, six ODAC individual champions, three school records and two NCAA-qualifying marks. The women placed second with 139 points, while the men finished third with 103 points, which is the highest point-total since 1994 when the Generals recorded 162 points. Also, senior Elizabeth Webb (Middleburg, Va./Wakefield) was named the Co-Athlete of the Meet and the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year, while junior Billy Billington (Memphis, Tenn./Montgomery Bell Academy) garnered the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year accolade.
Roanoke captured the women's 2009 ODAC crown with 173.5 points and was followed by W&L (139), Lynchburg (127), Bridgewater (90), Eastern Mennonite (45) and Virginia Wesleyan (12.5). Lynchburg claimed the men's title with 227 points, while Bridgewater (127), W&L (103), Roanoke (47), Virginia Wesleyan (41) and Eastern Mennonite (40) rounded out the scoring.
The women were paced by Webb, who notched three first-place finishes. Webb finished the 1500 meters in 4:46.77 before crossing the finish line in 2:21.17 in the 800 meters. She then won the 5000 meters in 18:58.30. Senior Stacy Doornbos (Roswell, Ga./Lassiter) placed second and recorded a school record in the 100 hurdles in an NCAA-qualifying time of 14.89. She then leaped 5.48 meters in the long jump for a third-place mark, which also was an NCAA-qualifying mark. Doornbos then cleared 1.53 meters in the high jump for a third-place finish and crossed the finish line in the 200 meters (25.88) for another third-place nod. She placed sixth in the javelin with a toss of 30.83 meters. Additionally, Doornbos was a member of the 4x100 meter relay squad that notched a fourth-place finish in a time of 50.02 and the 4x400 meter relay team that finished in 4:15.59 for a fifth-place mark.
Senior Becca Taylor (Hamilton, Ohio/Edgewood) finished first in the 3000 meter steeplechase in a school-record and ODAC record-time of 11:22.19. Taylor also placed second in the 5000 meters (19:26.20) and fifth in the 1500 meters (4:59.76). Senior Jess Shaw (Dallas, Texas/Highland Park) crossed finish line in the 3000 meter steeplechase in a time of 11:34.64 for a second-place mark. She then ran the 1500 meters in 4:53.37 for a fourth-place finish.
Junior Maggie Sutherland (Sewickley, Pa./Sewickley Academy) cleared 1.53 meters in the high jump to place second and finished fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.92). Sutherland was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay team. Junior Sallie Armstrong (Houston, Texas/St. John's) finished third in the shot put with a toss of 10.89 meters and fourth in the 400 hurdles (1:08.22). She was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay team.
Also scoring for the Generals was senior Grace Andrews (Dyersburg, Tenn./Dyersburg) tossed 33.99 meters in the discus for a third-place finish and recorded a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw (33.64m). First-year Natalie Stier (Alexandria, Va./Bishop Ireton) ran the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:06.92 for a third-place mark. Additionally, she was a member of the 4x100 meter relay team. Sophomore Summer Lollie (Mesquite, Texas/Dr. John D Horn) leaped 10.38 meters in the triple jump for a fifth-place finish. Lollie was also a member of the 4x100 meter relay squad.
On the men's side, Billington won the hammer throw with a school-record toss of 49.82 meters. He then claimed the shot put (13.70m) and placed second in the discus (42.15m). Sophomore Jeff Giordano (Slidell, La./Jesuit) placed third in the 100 meters (11.08) and the 200 meters (22.29). Additionally, he was a member of the 4x100 meter relay team that finished in third-place (44.26) and the 4x400 meter relay team that placed fifth (3:31.21).
Junior Ryan Castle (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) cleared 1.88 meters in the high jump for a fourth-place nod and was also a member of both relay teams. Senior Michael Welsh (Tullahoma, Tenn./Tullahoma) notched two third-place marks in the 1500 meters (4:02.54) and the 5000 meters (15:58.00).
Junior Thomas Brandlein (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) ran 57.89 in the 400 meters for a third-place mark and was also a member of the 4x400 meter relay team. Junior Brian Bondurant (Richmond, Va./Lloyd C. Bird) recorded a sixth-place mark in the triple jump (12.87m) and was a member of the 4x100 meter relay squad.
Seniors Vance Berry (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./ Episcopal) and Chip McCoy (Litchfield, Conn./Litchfield) and junior Ben Goetsch (Timonium, Md./Gilman) all notched second place marks on the day. Berry crossed the finish line in the 1500 meters in a time of 4:02.49, while McCoy ran the 400 meters in 57.49. Goetsch cleared 1.93 meters in the high jump.
Sophomore Jack Ivy (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) and first-year Matt Gossett (Atlanta, Ga./Wesleyan) rounded out the Generals' scoring with fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively. Ivy finished the 3000 meter steeplechase in 10:06.36, while Gossett crossed the finish line in 4:04.48 in the 1500 meters. First-year Tyler Grant (Sewanee, Ga./South Forsyth) was also a member of both relay teams.
The Generals return to action on Friday at the Hillsdale GINA relays.
~ Generals ~