“My students and I were very involved in the public awareness campaign about the Cow Knob Salamander,” said photography professor , who chairs the Department of Visual and Communication Arts at 91����Ƶ. “This campaign was spearheaded by a constellation of dedicated conservation nonprofits and advocacy groups in the region.”

Partners who worked most closely with Johnson’s classes included , , and the .

The salamander photos emerged from a class in conservation photography launched by Johnson several years ago. He sought to encourage students to “think about broader ecosystems, the environment, human culture and how they relate to the natural world, as well as about helping to protect nature.”

Johnson’s own has also received attention. [To see more photos and learn more about Johnson, visit his .]

Proposed pipeline to cross wild regions

In the fall of 2014 and 2015, Johnson’s class took photos of the George Washington National Forest and nearby areas. The images were utilized to support a half-dozen citizens’ groups opposed to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a proposal backed by four large utility companies. In a new pipeline more than 500 miles long, the natural gas would traverse the George Washington National Forest and Monongahela National Forest, in addition to other public and private properties in mostly rural areas of Virginia and West Virginia.

“The proposed pipeline will cross the central Allegheny Highlands, the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the adjacent valleys. It will cut through 30 miles of national forest and cross numerous rivers, streams, and wetlands,” says the of Dominion Pipeline Monitoring Coalition, for which senior Jonathan Bush did aerial photographic surveying. “This area represents the heart of the remaining wild landscape in the eastern United States, and it is a major biodiversity refugium that can only increase in rarity and importance.”

By the coalition’s description, “the proposed pipeline will be 42 inches in diameter, requiring excavation of an 8- to 12-foot-deep trench and the bulldozing of a 125-foot-wide construction corridor straight up and down multiple steep-sided forested mountains.

“It will require construction of heavy-duty transport roads and staging areas for large earth-moving equipment and pipeline assembly. It will require blasting through bedrock, and excavation through streams and wetlands. It will require construction across unstable and hydrologically sensitive karst terrain.

“Pipeline construction on this scale, across this type of steep, well-watered, forested mountain landscape, is unprecedented,” concludes the coalition on its website.

Photographing wildlife and landscapes

Johnson and his students did not limit themselves to documenting the rare Cow Knob Salamanders, which live in the path of the proposed pipeline on and near Shenandoah Mountain. They also photographed pristine streams, verdant farmland, and breathtaking views that would be lost with pipeline construction and maintenance.

Their salamander photos, however, were the ones that seemed to have the most impact, given that they were published widely by the news media and on civic action websites across Virginia. The potential negative impact on these salamanders and the Cheat Mountain Salamanders, plus on West Virginia northern flying squirrels and ecosystem restoration areas, was cited in the Jan. 19 letter from U.S. Forest Service administrators to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC.

The commission is deliberating whether to approve proposals to construct several pipelines for moving Marcellus shale gas from western West Virginia to Virginia and the southeast. These pipelines would be the largest ever built in this region, and all routes proposed thus far would impinge on national forest land.

The Forest Service letter referred to natural resources of “irreplaceable character” on Shenandoah Mountain, Cheat Mountain and Back Allegheny Mountain that would need to be circumvented by any pipelines.

Students contributed to publicity efforts

“I’m very proud of the student involvement in this work – surveying, hiking, mapmaking, land and aerial photographing, and writing,” said Johnson. “It’s impossible to know exactly how much the public campaign played in the final Forest Service decision, but I have to believe the amount of publicity surrounding this little amphibian helped provide political support for this move.”

Lynn Cameron, vice president of the Virginia Wilderness Committee and past president of the Virginia Wilderness Committee, has been with the latter group since it began 10 years ago. Cameron calls the partnership between her group and Johnson’s class “mutually beneficial.” Johnson serves with Cameron on the board of the Virginia Wilderness Committee.

“Being able to show the beauty and biodiversity of the area, along with its water and recreational resources, through the images provided by 91����Ƶ’s students really helps our efforts,” she says.

The George Washington-Jefferson National Forest receives more than 2 million visits annually, most often for hiking, fishing and picnicking, by Forest Service estimates. Access to this forest is as close as 10 miles (20 minutes by car) west of 91����Ƶ’s campus.

All nine students in the fall 2014 Conservation Photography took class field trips that involved photographing landscapes and biodiversity along the proposed pipeline route: Jonathan Bush, Malika Davis, Londen Wheeler, Emma King, Ryan Keiner, Chris Lehman, Meghan Good, Amber Davis and Jonathan Drescher-Lehman. These students also divided into three small groups, two of which worked specifically on the pipeline (their images can be seen here: ).

Cameron recalls that Wheeler was the first to see and photograph the Cow Knob Salamander. Then Bush, Davis and King returned to the area and found some of these salamanders on their own. “I was with them and remember being amazed that they could actually find rare salamanders on a field trip in mid-October, which is at the end of their active season,” said Cameron. “Normally, these salamanders can be found on warm, damp nights. The students found them at mid-day during a dry spell. It was just unbelievable.”

Collectively, the students emerged with some remarkable images which have been used in by and the , among others.

In the fall 2015 Conservation Photo class, four students focused on the pipeline project, but their photos centered on farmland and private property: Curtis Handy, Rachel Schrock, Azariah Cox, and Macson McGuigan. McGuigan also worked on a with his GIS class to make maps related to threatened species in the pipeline route area.

For the men,  (Mount Sidney, Va./Fort Defiance) took nearly six seconds off of his indoor PR in the 3000m, coming across in a time of 8:43.68 to re-break his own school record of 8:49.20 from the CNU Holiday Open in December.

A foursome of  (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock),  (Winchester, Va./Millbrook),  (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and Thibodeaux destroyed the program record in the distance medley relay.  The foursome crossed in 10:29.09, topping the 2013 record of 10:37.15 by more than eight seconds and bumping the Royals to the No. 11 spot in the nation this season.

The 4x400m team of Faint, Denlinger,  (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) and  (Salem, Va./Salem) had the seventh-best time in 91����Ƶ history at 3:28.34.

Denlinger set his indoor PR in the 800m, stopping the watch at 1:56.50.  He moves to the second-best time in the event in 91����Ƶ history.  Luke Yoder set the record of 1:55.84 in 2007.  Denlinger also sits at No. 23 in the nation so far this season with the time.

A pair of young runners made a splash in the 400m.  Faint, a sophomore, clocked at 51.41 to win his heat and earn 21st overall.  Faint PRed with the effort and moved up two spots to No. 8 in the 91����Ƶ history books.  Sampson, a freshman, knocked 0.01 of his PR to take sole possession of No. 9 in the books at 51.65.

 (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) had a successful re-entry to the track season, as he punched an ODAC spot in the 5000m.  The 2014 S/SE Region Athlete of the Year in cross country, Gehman finished his race in 16:18.61.

 (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) improved upon his 91����Ƶ No. 2 distance in the weight throw.  His best toss landed at 14.87m (48-9.5ft), an improvement of more than two feet.  Nathan Turner holds the 91����Ƶ record at 15.77m (51-9ft).  In the shot put, Heizer landed at 14.18m (46-6.25ft).

For his efforts, he was named ODAC Field Athlete of the Week.

In the 60m hurdles,  (Broadway, Va./Broadway) crossed in 8.78 while  (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) came in at 8.96.

 (Charlotte Court House, Va./Randolph Henry) punched an ODAC ticket in the 200m, winning his heat in 23.69.  He also participated in the long jump, sticking his best landing at 6.07m (19-11ft).

 (Bristow, Va./Patriot) made just one of his three attempts in the triple jump, but it was good enough to tie him for No. 7 in 91����Ƶ history at 12.83m (42-1.25ft).

Meanwhile on the women’s side,  (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) put herself fourth in the nation in the mile run with her time of 5:02.05.  The All-American was the top D-III runner at the meet and took fifth overall. Chappell-Dick broke the finish line seventh overall in the 800m with a time of 2:16.02.  She is ninth in the nation with the time. She was named ODAC Athlete of the Week for her win.

Three other women ran in the 800m, with each earning an ODAC-qualifying time.   (King George, Va./King George) had a PR of 2:30.74, jumping herself to No. 6 on the all-time 91����Ƶ charts.  �������󳾲����� (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) shaved more than a second off of her first collegiate race with a time of 2:31.21 to take No. 8 in 91����Ƶ history, and  (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) came in at 2:33.60.

In the 3000m,  (Dover, Ohio/Dover) crossed in 10:34.38.  ����Ծ��ǰ��� (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) was 12th overall in the 5000m, clocking in at 20:19.51.

The distance medley relay team of Chappell-Dick, Williams, Yoder and Schirch had a solid time of 13:42.21.

In the field events, sophomore  (Bedford, Va./Liberty) was the lone 91����Ƶ representative.  She just missed her indoor PR in the triple jump, landing at 10.55m (34-7.5ft).  In the long jump she measured at 4.44m (14-7.0 feet).

The Royals head to Selinsgrove, Pa., next Saturday for the Crusader Challenge hosted by Susquehanna University.

 (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) helped to highlight the day as he pointed in a couple of events.  The sophomore had a short lead on a handful of finishers to win the 800m as he crossed in 1:55.02.  It was easily Thibodeaux’s season best time, although more than a second and a half off his PR from last year.  The second place runner came in at 1:55.86 while teammate  (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) was third in 1:55.99, earning All-ODAC Third Team honors.

Thibodeaux then came in fourth in the 1500m with a PR time of 4:02.38, putting him fourth in the 91����Ƶ history books as well.   (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) destroyed his PR and won his heat by six seconds to take sixth place in the event in 4:08.29.

�������󳾲����� (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) made a dazzling debut in the javelin, coming from the fourth seed to win gold with a PR throw of 50.10m (164-4ft).  He moves to No. 5 all-time at 91����Ƶ.

The men also had some great finishes in the hurdles.  The Royals went 1-and-3 in the 400m hurdles, as freshman  (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) claimed the gold.  Faint’s winning time was 54.23, a PR for him and fifth in 91����Ƶ history.  Junior  (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) also staked his PR, taking third place in the race in 57.04 and putting him at No. 10 in the 91����Ƶ books.

 (Broadway, Va./Broadway) pulled away at the finish of the 110m hurdles, grabbing gold and All-ODAC First Team with a time of 15.30.  His PR moved him to No. 3 all-time at 91����Ƶ in the event.   (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) had a gritty effort to claim fourth in the race in 16.25.

 (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) earned a silver in the shot put.  The big man landed at 14.39m (47-2.5ft), crushing his outdoor PR and moving to No. 2 in 91����Ƶ history.  He earned All-ODAC Second Team honors with the throw and was just six inches short of first place at 14.54m (47-8.5ft).

The Royals had two point-takers in the high jump.   (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite), who entered as the favorite in the event, settled for a bronze finish.  He took third based on jumps, tying his season best at 1.91m (6-3.25ft).  Faint was sixth at 1.73m (5-8.0ft), setting his PR.

Faint also took a point in the triple jump, earning sixth by a single millimeter with his PR at 13.07m (42-10.75ft).  He moves in ninth all-time at 91����Ƶ as well.

�������󳾲����� (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass) took fifth in a tight finals of the 200m dash.  After standing in eighth after the prelims, Dews clocked a 22.55 PR in the finals, with all of the top six finished within 0.47 seconds of each other.

Nisly grabbed the final point in the 3000m steeplechase, leading a group of four 91����Ƶ runners in sixth place with a tie of 10:19.04.

In the relays, the 4x100m squad of  (Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy), Dews,  (Ashburn, Va./Briar Woods) and  (Appomattox, Va./Appomattox) earned fourth place with a time of 44.05.  The 4x400m foursome of Dews, Faint, Bush and Denlinger came in fifth in 3:22.50.

The men racked up 86 points to comfortably finish in third place for their highest outdoor finish since 2006.  Bridgewater won the men’s title with 154 points while Lynchburg was second with 132.  Washington and Lee was behind the Royals with 66 tallies.

Women Stand Fourth At ODACs And Win Individual Honors

Highlighted by four gold medals, the 91����Ƶ track and field women earned their highest finish at the ODAC Outdoor Championships in nine year.  The meet was hosted by Bridgewater College Friday and Saturday.

To no one’s surprise,  (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) and  (Dover, Ohio/Dover) led the charge for the women, with each winning two gold medals with their All-ODAC First Team status.

Chappell-Dick won the 800m and 1500m, breaking the ODAC Championships record in the 800m.  In the two-lap race she had a pair of Bridgewater runners hanging near her, but not enough to challenge for top honors.  Chappell-Dick won in a time of 2:13.64, breaking the meet record of 2:13.91 set by Roanoke’s Carmen Graves two years ago.

In the 1500m, the All-American was her usual self, leading the pack in 4:46.81.  While a comfortable pace off her PR, it was still good enough to give Chappell-Dick the win by more than three seconds.  Lehman actually crossed fourth in the race in 4:53.38.

Lehman was then dominant in the two distance events.  In the 5000m she broke away from the pack early and strided her way to a facility record time of 18:03.55, breaking the old mark by more than 37 seconds.  Teammate  (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) claimed the silver with a second place finish at the ODAC meet, timing at 19:02.62.

Lehman ran a great race to win the 10,000m Friday night.  The freshman ran with the pack for most of the race, before making her move with two laps to go.  Lehman made a quick pass of Roanoke’s Kerri Dalton to take over the lead, and then bolted away with more than a 19-second margin over the final 800m.  Lehman’s winning time was another facility-record 39:01.45, a comfortable win over Dalton’s 39:20.83.  Paden stayed with the lead group most of that race as well and came in fifth with a time of 40:03.77.

 (Bedford, Va./Liberty) completed a great first season in the jumping events.  She took fourth in the long jump, landing a PR jump at 5.27m (17-3.5ft), less than an inch behind the All-ODAC status of third place at 5.29m (17-4.25ft).  The distance also bumped her up to No. 3 in 91����Ƶ history.  In the triple jump, Kittrell grabbed another fourth place finish, totaling 10.72m (35-2ft).

����Ծ��ǰ��� (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) was one of four women to break the facility record in the hammer throw.  She claimed fourth with a landing at 44.10m (144-5ft), within sight of Bridgewater’ Katelyn Senger in third with 44.18m (144-11ft).  It was a huge PR for Bane, upping her own school record, which had been 39.28m (128-10ft).  Bane added a point to the team total in the discus, taking sixth with a season best of 31.00m (101-8ft).

Chappell-Dick also earned some points in this high jump.  In just her second-ever effort in the event, the junior tied for fourth by clearing 1.51m (4-11.5ft).

 (Peninsula, Wash./Gig Harbor) was sixth in the javelin, as the junior landed at 30.97m (101-7ft) and inched up her PR and No. 2 spot in the 91����Ƶ history books.

�������󳾲����� (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) grabbed a point in the 3000m steeplechase.  She earned sixth place with a time of 13:07.23.

The 4x400m relay team of  (King George, Va./King George), Chappell-Dick,  (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) and  (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) claimed fourth, just missing All-ODAC status, with a time of 4:04.41.  The 4x100m group of  (East Norriton, Pa./Christopher Dock), Chappell-Dick, Kittrell, and McKinsey was sixth with a time of 52.16.

The Royals had 77 points as a team, earning fourth place overall for their highest team finish since 2006.  Roanoke won the women’s side with 156 points, followed by Bridgewater at 105 and Washington and Lee at 91.  Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan were tied for fifth behind 91����Ƶ with 63.

The ODAC Championships meet completes the main season for the Eastern Mennonite track teams.  Now the focus turns to twilight meets and preparing for hopeful runs at the NCAA National Championships in late May.  The next meet scheduled for the Royals is the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on April 29.

Individual Awards
The Royals picked up a trio of individual honors at the ODAC Championships as well.  Kat Lehman was named the Rookie of the Year, winning two events and looking for another trip to the national meet after going in cross country and indoor track as well.

Hannah Chappell-Dick made it a sweep of the ODAC/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete awards, as she also claimed that honor in cross country and indoor track.  Chappell-Dick recently added an All-American title to her name after finishing second in the mile at the national indoor meet to go with a 3.86 GPA as a biology major.

Coach Jason Lewkowicz was named the ODAC Coach of the Year, as he was recognized for his work with the women in picking up his first ODAC award in his final season with the Royals.

Women’s track and field

���DZ��dz��ǰ����� (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) highlighted the 91����Ƶ track & field women at the ODAC Championships as she won two individual titles and broke a record.  Roanoke College hosted the conference’s title meet in Salem, Va.

Chappell-Dick claimed a pair of gold medals with the resulting All-ODAC First Team status.  In the 1500m, Chappell-Dick had a huge PR to break the ODAC Championships record.  The sophomore crossed in 4:38.61, out-pacing rival Annalise Madison of Washington and Lee by a full second.  Both runners broke the meet record of 4:43.08, set by All-American Carmen Graves in 2012.  It was also an 91����Ƶ record for Chappell-Dick, who easily broke her own mark of 4:47.12 from last spring.

Chappell-Dick and Madison went head-to-head again in the 800m, with Chappell-Dick again coming out on top.  She ran off her 91����Ƶ record time, but still cleared the field by three seconds with a time of 2:18.31.  Teammate  (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) had a great race and PRed in 2:25.23.  She finished eighth and just missed pointing by a mere nine-tenths of a second.

In the javelin,  (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula) just missed All-ODAC honors with a fourth-place finish.  Borg’s best spear landed at 29.32m to just edge out W&L’s Leigh Dannhauser on her final effort.

The 4x400m relay team grabbed sixth, as  (Puyallup, Wash./Mountainview International), Schirch,  (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) and Chappell-Dick combined to time at 4:27.36.

 (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) snuck a point in the discus, finishing sixth at 31.45m.

����Ծ��ǰ��� (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) finished her career well, setting her PR in the 5000m with a time of 19:29.20.  Similar to Schirch, Rittenhouse finished eighth, with the top six in each event earning points to the team total.

The Royals totaled 26 points to finished seventh out of nine teams at the meet.  Roanoke won the team title with 150.33 points.

Men’s track and field

It was almost expected, but the 91����Ƶ men’s track & field team made a clean sweep of the high jump medals at the 2014 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship meet.  Roanoke hosted the two-day event in Salem, Va., on Friday and Saturday.

91����Ƶ entered the ODAC Championships with three of the top four heights in the high jump during the season.  They made it a top-three sweep.   (Dalton, Ohio/Central Christian) earned his fourth consecutive indoor and outdoor title, as the senior had no problem in clearing 2.04m (6-8.25ft) to win the meet and set a new 91����Ƶ record.   (Richmond, Va./Highland Springs) had the most surprising finish, claiming the silver at 2.02m (6-7.5ft).  Moore recently joined the team after the completion of the men’s volleyball season a few weeks ago.  ���DZ��dz��ǰ����� (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) was third at 1.91m (6-3.25ft).  All three claim All-ODAC status, and each also have a shot at qualifying for the national meet.

 (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) just claimed a spot in the finals of the 400m dash, standing sixth after the preliminaries with a time of :50.41.  The freshman then set his PR in the finals, finishing fourth with a time of :50.20.

 (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) took points in the 3000m steeplechase, earning fifth with a time of 10:19.7.

The 4x400m relay team of  (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), Winters,  (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) was fifth as well, combining for a time of 3:25.08 and a photo finish ahead of Roanoke’s time of 3:25.13.

Thibodeaux and  (Perkasie, Pa./ Christopher Dock) continued their season-long efforts at pushing each other in the 800m.  Thibodeaux crossed sixth to grab the final point toward the team total, timing at 1:57.88.  He was just three-tenths of a second from jumping into fourth place.  Denlinger then took seventh place in 1:58.33.

 (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) set his PR by more than seven seconds in the 5000m run, crossing in 15:26.11 to take sixth place.  Classmate  (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) was one position behind him with a time of 15:37.21.

 (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) and  (Broadway, Va./Broadway) each qualified for the finals of 110m hurdles, with Cox grabbing sixth place in :16.07.

 (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) was one spot from pointing in the 10,000m run, crossing seventh in 34:22.97.

 (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) topped his PR on three different efforts in the shot put, and finished eighth with his best heave at 12.38m (40-7.4ft).  He also destroyed his PR in the discus, landing at 34.12m (111-11.3ft).

Eastern Mennonite finished seventh in a very tight grouping in the men’s team standings.  91����Ƶ had 35 points, but was within three points of fourth-place Roanoke at 38.  Virginia Wesleyan was fifth with 37 while Shenandoah was sixth at 36.

This was the final meet of the year for most of the Royals, although a few athletes will stick around in efforts to prepare for a potential trip to the NCAA National Championships, which are May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio.  The first meet scheduled as part of that stretch run is the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on Wednesday, April 30.

“I’m really excited to see growth in our track & field program this year,” Lewkowicz said.  “We have a lot of talented newcomers on the men’s side and a number of All-ODAC performers returning for the women.  Expectations are high and we are excited about that.”

(Bluffton, Oh./Bluffton) is back for her sophomore season after breaking five Eastern Mennonite middle distance records in her first year.  For the men, (Dalton, Oh./Central Christian) will look to improve on his incredible growth from last year.  As a junior transfer, King was talked into trying the high jump by Lewkowicz.  In his first-ever campaign in the event, King won both the indoor and outdoor ODAC titles, and also broke the 91����Ƶ outdoor record.  Not bad.

Lewkowicz said that with a balance of faith, team camaraderie and talent, he senses his men and women are poised to reach new heights in 2014.

“We are looking to continue to build off of that success from last year and part of that is the expectation that school records will continue to be broken,” he explained.  “This adds to the level of excitement on the team because setting records is an indication of performing at a level that will help us as a team at the ODAC level.  At the end of the day, the goal is to get better each time out and let the accolades come as they will.”

Also back for the men is sophomore (Broadway, Va./Broadway), who took the silver in the 60m hurdles at the ODAC indoor meet and bronze in the 100m hurdles at the outdoor meet.  For the women, sophomore (Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) was third in 800m outdoor race, finishing just behind Chappell-Dick.  The women had a distance medley relay team take third at the indoor meet in 2013, and Brumfield, (Gap, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), and (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) all return from that foursome.  Another sophomore, (Gig Harbor, Wash./Peninsula), was third in the javelin last spring to round out 91����Ƶ’s athletes who earned an All-ODAC honor last year.

Lewkowicz expects those athletes to be the core of his squads this year, along with (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) in the distance runs, (Strasburg, Va./Strasburg) in the throws and jumper (Canby, Ore./Western Mennonite).  Garber earned the No. 3 spot in the 91����Ƶ record books in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump as a freshman in 2011, but took the last two years off.  For men, (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) will help push King in the high jump.  Last year as a freshman, he broke the school’s indoor high jump record before King took it over.  Cross country standouts (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) will lead the distance group.

91����Ƶ’s coach pointed out that the men’s talent level is getting much deeper this year.

“In the hurdles, All-ODAC performer Richard Robinson is joined by talented freshman (Lynchburg, Va./Heritage),” explained Lewkowicz.  “ (Mechanicsville, Pa./Atlee) and (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside) highlight a talented group of freshmen sprinters, with (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) coming into a middle distance group that could score a lot of points at the ODAC meets.  Returners (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts), (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) and (Nelson, Va./Nelson Country) give us a level of depth that we have not had in years.”

Along with the freshmen men that Lewkowicz pointed out, he noted a handful of returners who might turn heads with the improvements they have made.

“I think Erica Garber will make steady progress as the season goes on,” he said.  “Juni Schirch and (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) missed most of last year due to sickness and injury and I expect them both to do well.  On the men’s side, Philip Watson and Jonathan Bush are poised to breakout this season.

With a number of Royals runners either competing or training with the cross country team this fall, Lewkowicz explains the transition of the group into the track season.

“Moving out of a successful cross country season, the focus turned to bringing the entire track team together as a unit,” he said.  “We have a lot of newcomers, some folks returning from/leaving for cross culturals, and some returning from injuries.  Getting everyone on the same page and focused on the same goals is always a priority.  We are also putting a lot of emphasis on doing the little things well to help keep us healthy in body, mind and spirit.

After years of running their championship meets with an “open” format, the Old Dominion Athletic Conference has added qualifying standards this year.  Although the Eastern Mennonite teams continue to grow in number (25 men and 14 women), the benchmarks are more likely to provide nice targets for 91����Ƶ’s athletes rather than limit how many Royals participate.

“At this point, the standards should not have too much of an effect on our team,” said Lewkowicz, “since each school is guaranteed three spots in each event, regardless of time/mark attained, in addition to four ‘wild card’ placements at the ODAC meet.  While we do have depth in several areas that could leave some folks out, I believe most of our athletes will be able to hit the qualifying mark for their respective event(s).”

The 2013 track season nearly became synonymous breaking records, and the Royals hope to do the same thing in 2014.  They also want to rise out of the middle of the pack at the ODAC meet.

“We want both teams to improve their finish at the ODAC meet, both for the indoor and outdoor season,” Lewkowicz said.  “We already saw a school record broken at the December meet and we anticipate a lot more of that taking place over the course of the season.  It is also my hope that we use our platform as a collegiate team to represent our university well and to glorify Christ through our attitude, effort, humility and sportsmanship.  He is the giver of all good gifts and we want to honor Him in all that we do.”

The 91����Ƶ teams are in action this weekend at the Liberty Open in Lynchburg.  The ODAC Indoor Championships are March 2 in Hampton, Va., with nationals two weeks later in Lincoln, Neb.  The outdoor season then starts on March 22, with the ODAC Outdoor Championships on April 18 and 19.  After a handful of “last chance” meets, the national outdoor meet is May 22-24 in Delaware, Ohio.