Caitlin Dorsch ~ Copy Desk Chief
On Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, the University of Lynchburg women’s indoor track and field team won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship title at Roanoke College’s Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia. Of all the Hornets who competed, many provided stellar performances in order to secure their team the victory with an overall score of 176 points, 44 points ahead of the second-place Bridgewater College team.
Sophomore, Kaitlyn Johnson placed second in the 5,000-meter-run and third in the 3,000-meter-run. Junior, Keaira Reese placed third in the triple jump. Junior, Sammi Woods placed first in shot put. Senior, Endasia Mitchell placed first in the 400-meter-dash and first in the 4X400-meter-relay with first-years Bailey Casto and Jessica Cammarata and sophomore Angela Ramsden. Cammarata was named Rookie of the Meet. Senior, Madeline Van Aken, placed first in the pole vault and was named Field Athlete of the Year. And, head coach Jim Sprecher was named women’s coach of the year.
In reaction to the conference title, first-year Jillian Guerra stated, “The win feels great because today was a huge step into moving our team bond from just teammates to a family.” First-year, Faith Francis added a personal touch to Guerra’s statement by mentioning, “For me to witness the win was a great experience, and I cannot wait to compete and be part of the winning experience.”
Sophomore, Angela Ramsden explained that, “this win is just another example of all of the dedication and hard work our team had been putting into practice” while hinting at the fact that this was her second title as part of the track and field team. In April 2018, the team had won the outdoor ODAC title with a score of 195 total points, 30 points ahead of the second-place Bridgewater College team. She went even further to say, “Even though we may not all practice together because of event specific needs, you can see that when it matters we all come together and achieve a great win together as a team and family.”
Up next for a few of the Hornet athletes will be the Roanoke Last Chance Qualifier at the Cregger Center in Salem, Virginia on Saturday, March 2, 2019. Then, a few of the athletes will travel to Boston, Massachusetts in order to compete in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, March 8, 2019.
