GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Washington and Lee men's and women's cross country teams swept the team and individual honors at the ODAC Championships held at Hagan Stone Park in Greensboro, N.C., on Saturday afternoon. The W&L men finished first of nine teams, while the women were first of eight teams.
Additionally, senior Nathan Johnson (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) won the men's race to earn ODAC Runner of the Year honors for the second straight season. For the women, freshman Jackie Burns (Burke, Va./Woodward Academy) finished first overall to claim ODAC Runner and Rookie of the Year honors. Both Johnson and senior Liz Twentyman (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) were named the ODAC Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Johnson completed the course in 26:05.0 and was followed by sophomore Alex Mahoney (Winnetka, Ill./New Trier/Singapore American), who finished second with a time of 26:10.5. Freshman Michael Welsh (Tullahoma, Tenn./Tullahoma) placed fifth overall (26:55.1) to join Johnson and Mahoney on the All-ODAC First Team. Freshman Vance Berry (Ponte Verde Beach, Fla./Episcopal), senior Andrew Johnson (Blairstown, N.J./Blair Academy) and sophomore Andrew Friski (Lexington, Va./Rockbridge County) all earned Second Team All-ODAC accolades. Berry placed eighth (27:29.2), Johnson placed 10th (27:38.6) and Friski finished 12th (27:47.1).
Burns crossed the tape in 23:47.2 and was followed by sophomore Lindsay Erickson (Silver Spring, Md./Stone Ridge) who finished second with a time of 24:08.1. Freshman Rebecca Taylor (Hamilton, Ohio/Edgewood) and senior Mary Christopher (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) joined Burns and Erickson in earning First Team All-ODAC honors. Taylor placed fourth with a time of 24:26.7, while Christopher finished seventh with a time of 24:38.6. Junior Jenny Ratzel (Elm Grove, Wisc./Brookfield East) earned Second Team All-ODAC honors after finishing 11th overall (25:06.5).
W&L will return to action on Sat., Nov. 12 as it competes in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional held in Conway, Ark.