GREENSBORO, N.C. — Washington and Lee capped a dominant week Saturday night by winning the 2026 ODAC Men's Swimming Championship with 861.5 points, finishing more than 250 points ahead of runner-up Lynchburg (606.5) at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
On the final day, the Generals closed the meet with two individual titles, a relay victory, an ODAC record, multiple NCAA B-cut performances and a conference scholar-athlete honor to secure the program's 10th ODAC championship title.
Washington and Lee placed 14 swimmers on the All-ODAC teams. Earning First Team honors (awarded to first- and second-place individual finishers) were Harrison Cerone, Leighton Chapman, Jackson Hall, Dalton Jobe, Zane Ross and Carter Whetstine. Named to the Second Team (third- and fourth-place finishers) were Charles Byars, Lucas Chacon, Thomas Denton, William Gordon and Cooper Tinsley, while Aidan Dold, Dylan Reher and Reid Vandervoort garnered Third Team recognition (fifth- and sixth-place finishers).
Senior Jackson Hall was named the ODAC/VAFB Men's Swimming Scholar-Athlete of the Year, recognizing his excellence in both the classroom and the pool. Hall also earned First Team All-ODAC honors during the meet.
Up Next: Washington and Lee will now await the official announcement of qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming & Diving Championships, set for March 18–21, 2026, at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IU Indianapolis in Indianapolis, Indiana. Selections will be announced during the first week of March.
Team Standings (Final)
- Washington and Lee – 861.5
- Lynchburg – 606.5
- Roanoke – 494.5
- Bridgewater – 477.5
- Randolph-Macon – 336
- Randolph – 143
- Virginia Wesleyan – 127
- Hampden-Sydney – 78
- Greensboro – 56
By the Numbers
- Team Finish: 1 of 9
- Final Team Points: 861.5
- Event Wins: 8 of 18
- Relay Titles: 4 of 5
- ODAC Records Broken: 4
- NCAA B-Cut Performances: 9
- All-ODAC Selections: 14 swimmers
Saturday Highlights
1650 Freestyle (Event 25)
200 Backstroke (Event 27)
100 Freestyle (Event 29)
1st – Leighton Chapman (44.08) – NCAA B-Cut | 2025 National Invite Time
Chapman eclipsed the NCAA B-cut standard (44.97) in both prelims (44.45) and finals (44.08), and also surpassed the 2025 national invited time (44.44) to secure the conference title.
Additional scoring:
200 Breaststroke (Event 31)
200 Butterfly (Event 33)
1st – Zane Ross (1:50.89) – ODAC Overall & Championship Record
Ross reset the ODAC overall and championship record of 1:51.27 (Victor Kontopanos, Randolph-Macon, 2020) with his title-winning swim.
400 Freestyle Relay (Event 35)
1st – W&L (2:58.69) – NCAA B-Cut | 2025 National Invite Time
Chapman, William Gordon, Byars and Jobe closed the meet with a statement victory, eclipsing the NCAA B-cut (3:00.68) and the 2025 national invited time (2:59.71).
Friday Highlights
200 Medley Relay (Event 13)
2nd – W&L A (1:28.98)
Charles Byars, Harrison Cerone, Zane Ross and Leighton Chapman opened the evening session with a runner-up finish.
400 Individual Medley (Event 15)
100 Butterfly (Event 17)
200 Freestyle (Event 19)
1st – Dalton Jobe (1:37.65) – ODAC Championship Record | NCAA B-Cut | 2025 National Invite Time
Jobe reset the ODAC Championship record of 1:37.76 (W&L's Tommy Thetford, 2016) with his winning swim of 1:37.65. He eclipsed the NCAA B-cut (1:39.21) in both prelims (1:38.15) and finals, and also surpassed the 2025 national invited time of 1:38.08.
100 Breaststroke (Event 21)
Cerone eclipsed the NCAA B-cut (55.19) in both prelims (54.91) and finals, marking his second B-cut performance of the day.
100 Backstroke (Event 23)
Thursday Highlights
200 Freestyle Relay (Event 3)
1st – W&L (1:20.78) – ODAC Record | NCAA B-Cut | Program Record | 2025 National Invite Time
Chapman, Dylan Reher, Byars and Jobe reset the ODAC overall and championship record (1:21.03, W&L, 2025). Their time also surpassed the NCAA B-cut (1:21.31) and the 2025 national invited time (1:20.86), marking the first of three W&L program records to fall.
500 Freestyle (Event 5)
The Generals placed four swimmers inside the top nine to build separation in the team standings.
200 Individual Medley (Event 7)
Bridgewater's Zachary Erb won in 1:47.61, but both Erb and Jobe eclipsed the previous ODAC overall and championship record of 1:48.13 (Erb, 2025). Jobe's 1:47.78 also surpassed the NCAA B-cut (1:50.08) and the 2025 national invited time (1:48.95), while resetting the W&L program record.
50 Freestyle (Event 9)
1st – Leighton Chapman (20.25) – NCAA B-Cut
Chapman captured the conference title and eclipsed the NCAA B-cut standard of 20.36.
400 Medley Relay (Event 11)
1st – W&L (3:16.16) – ODAC Record | NCAA B-Cut | Program Record
Byars, Harrison Cerone, Zane Ross and Jobe reset the ODAC overall and championship record with a winning time of 3:16.16, breaking the previous mark of 3:17.03 set by W&L in 2025. The performance also eclipsed the NCAA B-cut standard of 3:17.69, marking the Generals' third program record of the meet. W&L secured the victory with a late surge in the freestyle leg, edging the field in a tightly contested finish to close the third session.
Wednesday Highlights
800 Freestyle Relay (Event 1 – Wednesday)
1st – W&L (6:34.71) – NCAA B-Cut
Dalton Jobe, Leighton Chapman, Charles Byars and Thomas Denton opened the championships with a conference title and NCAA B-cut swim.
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.
