LEXINGTON, Va. – The nationally 11th-ranked Washington and Lee University men's cross country team will look to defend its conference title and capture its 16th Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) crown when the Generals travel to Winchester, Va., for the 2026 ODAC Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31. Shenandoah University will host the championship at Kernstown Battlefield, with the men's 8k race scheduled for 11 a.m.
Washington and Lee enters the postseason with the highest national ranking in program history, sitting No. 11 in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll. The Generals also hold the top spot in the South Region and will face three other regionally ranked conference opponents, including No. 2 Lynchburg, No. 5 Roanoke and No. 7 Shenandoah.
COACH'S QUOTE
It's always exciting to have the opportunity to compete for a conference title. Shenandoah offers a challenging but beautiful course that will provide a great setting for a championship race. We're confident in our preparation and looking forward to Saturday.
- Head Coach Brandon Spalding
MEN'S PREVIEW
Washington and Lee enters Saturday's championship seeking its second consecutive ODAC title after reclaiming the conference crown in 2025. The Generals totaled 27 points at Bridgewater College, placing five runners among the top 11 and all seven scorers inside the top 17 to finish six points ahead of nationally ranked Lynchburg (33). The victory marked the program's 15th ODAC championship and 16th conference title overall, while completing a men's and women's championship sweep for the first time since 2019.
The Generals return six All-ODAC performers from last year's championship squad, including two First Team selections.
Sam Daunt headlines the returning group after capturing the individual title and ODAC Runner of the Meet honors with a course-record time of 25:36.9.
Robert Cooper followed just two-tenths of a second later in 25:37.1 as both runners surpassed the previous course record of 25:42.6, established in 2015. The duo became W&L's first 1-2 finish at the conference championship since 2016, when Mac Strehler and MacKenzye Leroy claimed the top two positions.
William Dunaway (8th, 26:06.2),
Thomas Franklin (11th, 26:22.3) and
Jackson Kodenski (12th, 26:25.3) earned Second Team All-ODAC recognition, while
Wyatt Benjamin (18th, 26:47.0) collected Third Team accolades. The Generals' scoring five combined for a 25:55 average and a 45-second spread, demonstrating the front-running ability and depth that propelled W&L to the team championship.
Daunt will defend his individual crown after becoming Washington and Lee's first ODAC men's champion since Strehler in 2016. He aims to become the program's first repeat winner since Nate Johnson won consecutive titles in 2004 and 2005. Cooper, Dunaway, Franklin, Kodenski and Mehendale add championship experience to a lineup returning six of its top seven runners from last year's conference meet. The Generals must replace graduated senior Keaton Rush, who placed fifth in 2025 and earned ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors for the second straight season.
Washington and Lee has climbed to unprecedented heights in the national rankings this fall, reaching No. 11 in the latest USTFCCCA poll to establish a new program record. The Generals previously matched their then-program-best No. 12 ranking before moving up another position following their performance at the Running of the Cows Pre-Nationals on Oct. 3. W&L placed eighth among 35 teams with 217 points, finishing ahead of five programs ranked higher entering the meet, including No. 6 Pomona-Pitzer, No. 10 Tufts, No. 12 Williams, No. 17 Hope and No. 19 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
The Generals placed three runners among the top 25 at Pre-Nationals, led by Daunt's 10th-place finish in a season-best 24:43.0. Graduate transfer
Matt Kelly followed in 19th (24:59.3), while Cooper crossed the line 25th (25:03.9), giving W&L three finishers separated by just 20.9 seconds. Dunaway (84th, 25:38.7) and Kodenski (89th, 25:42.0) completed the scoring five, which averaged 25:14 with a 59-second spread. Franklin added a season-best 25:46.4, and
Davis Amare rounded out the team's top seven in 26:03.9.
Washington and Lee's individual strength is reflected throughout the ODAC's season-best 8k performances, with three Generals among the conference's top five and 10 inside the top 30. Kelly leads the league with a 24:36.2 recorded at the Cardinal Invitational on Sept. 19, while Daunt ranks third at 24:43.0 and Cooper sits fifth at 24:56.0. Kodenski (25:20.3) and
Will Pacey (25:36.7) hold the 11th- and 13th-fastest marks, respectively, followed by Dunaway in 14th (25:38.7) and Franklin in 17th (25:46.4).
Hall Wildman (25:53.3),
Ethan Khouri (25:56.9) and Amare (26:03.9) also rank among the conference's top 25, giving W&L several options throughout its scoring lineup.
The Generals have demonstrated their depth throughout the fall, opening the season with a runner-up finish at the Virginia Tech Invitational, where they totaled 53 points. W&L followed with a third-place showing at the Shenandoah Twilight Open before placing fourth at the Cardinal Invitational in Connecticut, where Kelly finished fourth individually. The Blue and White then captured the James Madison Invitational title with 20 points, led by an individual victory from Pacey and five runners among the top seven finishers.
Most recently, Washington and Lee placed second at Roanoke's South Region Showdown on Oct. 17, totaling 70 points at Green Hill Park in Salem, Va. The result marked the Generals' third top-two team finish of the season and provided another competitive outing ahead of the conference championship.
Saturday's championship will bring Washington and Lee back to familiar terrain at Kernstown Battlefield. The Generals' younger runners gained their first race experience on the course at the Shenandoah Twilight Open on Sept. 11, placing third with 62 points. The team's veteran runners completed a workout on the course following the meet, giving both groups valuable preparation for their return to Winchester.
Washington and Lee enters the championship as the ODAC's highest-ranked men's program in the South Region, holding the No. 1 position in the latest USTFCCCA rankings. The Generals will face three additional regionally ranked conference opponents in No. 2 Lynchburg, No. 5 Roanoke and No. 7 Shenandoah. Lynchburg finished just six points behind W&L at last year's championship and boasts seven of the conference's top 12 season-best 8k performances, led by Ty Blair's 24:37.5, the second-fastest mark in the league. Aidan Riggle (24:52.5), Cameron Sidebotham (25:03.3) and Alex Paciello (25:13.6) also rank among the conference's top eight, while Roanoke's Parker Blosser (25:13.4) and Shenandoah's Brayden Shotwell (25:43.5) are among the individual contenders. The Generals will look to maintain their regional standing and build on their historic national ranking as they pursue another conference title ahead of the NCAA South Region Championships.
2026 SEASON RESULTS
- Virginia Tech Invitational – 2nd (53 points)
- Shenandoah Twilight Open – 3rd (62 points)
- Cardinal Invitational – 4th (72 points)
- JMU Cross Country Invitational – 1st (20 points)
- Running of the Cows Pre-Nationals – 8th (217 points)
- Roanoke South Region Showdown – 2nd (70 points)
AWARDS
Following the championship races, the ODAC will recognize the team champions, individual winners and All-ODAC performers. The top seven individual finishers earn First Team All-ODAC honors, places 8-14 receive Second Team recognition and finishers 15-21 are named Third Team All-ODAC.
The conference will also recognize its individual Runner of the Meet and Rookie of the Meet, along with the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
LIVE COVERAGE AND RESULTS
Fans can follow Saturday's championship through a live broadcast on FloCollege, while Blue Ridge Timing will provide live results and individual standings throughout the competition.
CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026
Location: Kernstown Battlefield | Winchester, Va.
Host: Shenandoah University & Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Men's 8k: 11 a.m.
Championship Resources:
UP NEXT
The Generals will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the NCAA Division III South Region Championships, hosted by the University of Lynchburg at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
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.
