BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The No. 18 Washington and Lee men's cross country team reclaimed the conference crown on Saturday, winning the ODAC Championship with 27 points behind a decisive 1–2 finish and five scorers inside the top 11.

Virginia-native sophomore Sam Daunt broke the tape in 25:36.9 to earn ODAC Runnerof the Meet, edging teammate Robert Cooper by two-tenths (25:37.1) as both Generals dipped under the previous course record of 25:42.60 (Harrison Toney, 2015 - Roanoke).

Senior Keaton Rush placed 5th (25:52.9) and was voted the league's ODAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row. William Dunaway (8th, 26:06.2) and Thomas Franklin (11th, 26:22.3) closed out the scoring five, with Jackson Kodenski (12th, 26:25.3) and Raja Mehendale (17th, 26:42.7) completing the top seven.

The Generals maintained control for nearly the entire race, edging 23-ranked University of Lynchburg (33 points) in team scoring for 10 of the 12 Blue Ridge Timing check points. The Hornets owned a 3-point advantage at the 1.4k mark and the two teams were tied at 30 after four miles. W&L had the largest advantage after 4.2k with a 24-point lead, 20-44. 

The Blue and White's scoring five posted a 25:55 average with a 45-second spread to secure the program's 15th ODAC title and 16th conference championship in program history.

Find the meet's full results, HERE.
 

All-ODAC Honors

• First Team (1–7 place ): Sam Daunt (1), Robert Cooper (2), Keaton Rush (5)
• Second Team (8–14 place): William Dunaway (8), Thomas Franklin (11), Jackson Kodenski (12)
• Third Team (15–21 place): Raja Mehendale (17), Wyatt Benjamin (18)

Notes

• Course Record: Daunt (25:36.9) and Cooper (25:37.1) both surpassed the former course record (25:42.60, 2015).
• Historical Milestone: Daunt is W&L's first ODAC individual champion since Mac Strehler (2016); the Generals also went 1–2 that year (Strehler, MacKenzye Leroy).
• The team victory capped a W&L trophy sweep with the women's team, the program's first men's–women's double since 2019.
• WLU previous donned both crowns for five straight seasons from 2015 through 2019.
• The ODAC Rookie of the Meet awards were earned by Bridgewater's Olivia Morra and Roanoke's Nathaniel Orban. 

Up Next: W&L turns to the NCAA South Regional Championships on November 15th at Green Hill Park in Salem, Va. The men's race is set for 10 a.m.

Team Results (Top 10)

1. No. 18 Washington and Lee – 27 (1–2–5–8–11)
2. No. 23 Lynchburg – 33 (3–4–7–9–10)
3. Roanoke – 72
4. Shenandoah – 128
5. Bridgewater (Va.) – 143
6. Hampden-Sydney – 192
7. Virginia Wesleyan – 225
8. Eastern Mennonite – 229
9. Randolph – 249
10. Guilford – 287

W&L Scoring Seven

• 1st – Sam Daunt – 25:36.9
• 2nd – Robert Cooper – 25:37.1
• 5th – Keaton Rush – 25:52.9
• 8th – William Dunaway – 26:06.2
• 11th – Thomas Franklin – 26:22.3
• 12th – Jackson Kodenski – 26:25.3
• 17th – Raja Mehendale – 26:42.7

More W&L Results

• 18th – Wyatt Benjamin – 26:47.0
• 25th – Colin Verrett – 27:03.9
• 26th – Teddy Meredith – 27:05.2
• 31st – Hall Wildman – 27:29.3
• 34th – Will DeLoach – 27:31.3
• 37th – Davis Amare – 27:37.7
• 41st – Ethan Khouri – 27:48.4
• 42nd – William Fitch – 27:51.1
• 47th – John Hogan – 28:13.2
• 54th – Kaden Rife – 28:35.1
• 59th – Andrew Carroll – 28:57.2
• 68th – Jaden Brighter – 29:23.5
• 73rd – Luke Newton – 29:42.7
• 76th – Jack Camp – 29:48.0

Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.