• uprooting and transplanting fragile Great Sequoia saplings;
• solo-backpacking for two days and 13 miles up Half Dome;
• learning how to rock climb;
• traveling 50 minutes on mountain roads to get groceries;
• and a memorable snowball fight with coworkers outside a Giant Sequoia grove.

And that’s just the highlight reel. You could safely say that he took advantage of all Yosemite had to offer.

The 2015 91����Ƶ graduate opted for the post-graduation internship to gain more experience in his field – and also because of the opportunity to spend time in yet another spectacular national park. While studying at 91����Ƶ, the Harrisonburg native had volunteered at Shenandoah National Park.

Three months in the high Sierras gave him memories of lifetime, but also valuable experience that he’ll carry in the future.

“The most important thing is to get experience,” Yoder said “I know a lot of people say that in their lines of work, but it’s definitely true. Get as much experience as you can before and after you graduate, even if it’s not 100 percent the direction you want to go. Employers can tell who has worked in the field and who hasn’t.”

Due to the extreme specificity of most field research projects, it’s hard to train for an exact line of work, said Yoder, who chose an environmental science concentration to his degree in environmental sustainability. But he now has a a variety of skills necessary to conduct field work.

Restoring eroded areas

In Yosemite, Yoder worked with the , a non-profit organization that places young people in national parks and other natural spaces, contributing labor and learning skills as they help maintain and protect.

Yosemite is a major tourist attraction, with over 4 million visitors in 2014 alone.

“There tends to be a lot of erosion caused by visitors walking off trail and in non-protected vegetated areas,” Yoder said. “The main goal of our branch was to reintroduce native vegetation back into eroded areas in order to restore the natural ecosystem of Yosemite.”

Yoder and his crew planted more than 700 plants, and the process was much more complicated than simply sticking seeds in the ground. After selecting seeds, crew members cleaned off the chaff, or nongerminating material. Then, the seeds were sent to a third party that initiates young plant growth. The plants return to Yosemite as juveniles and are grown in nurseries until they mature. Finally, the crew plants them.

“The park scientists are extremely careful about keeping the delicate balance of the park’s ecosystem in check,” Yoder said.

The natural ecosystem impressed Yoder daily throughout his internship. “The vistas in this park are world renowned and should not be missed.” Yoder said. “I feel honored to have contributed to its overall beauty…this is a giant playground for people who love the outdoors.”

Challenges came in living in a remote area, where even buying groceries required a major excursion.

“The worst experience was when one of the other interns who I usually got a ride with had car issues … I was more or less unable to find rides to the grocery store for a few weeks,” Yoder said. “Thankfully though, this was at the end of most employees’ seasons, so a lot of people were giving away their extra food to the poor interns.”

Fieldwork opportunities as an undergraduate

Yoder decided to apply for an SCA internship because he’s enjoyed the opportunity before, working in Shenandoah National Park with an SCA crew on a fish population study. His prior experience with expensive field equipment and another SCA crew helped.

At 91����Ƶ, his study of environmental sustainability presented early opportunities for fieldwork.

“I worked closely with professors and on the Bergton stream restoration project, which was awesome, “Yoder said. “The two of them have provided me with great advice and support in terms of my career in environmental science, and I’ve also just learned a ton from them.”

He also some fun collecting data, mountain biking on dirt roads to collect stream water samples.

In the future, Yoder hopes to move back to the West as a full-time employee of the National Park Service. Graduate school isn’t out of the question either, once he hones in on what he wants to study.

But at least for this next “semester” of his life, Yoder has other things to keep him busy. He will be the interim manager of , a student-owned landscaping and maintenance business, while junior Jordan Leaman is on his cross-cultural to the Middle East.

“I am also volunteering with the in Staunton about once a week to help organize data and convince more farmers to fence off cattle from their streams,” Yoder said.

And in participating in the Spring STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Celebration poster session in the , Stoner practiced a few more practical skills he will need: graphic design and public speaking.

Stoner and partner Sarah Carpenter were winners of the upperclass division for their research titled “Bergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling.”

The poster session, which is preceded by an informal multidisciplinary science quiz-off and pizza feast, offers students “a chance to share their research with fellow students, faculty, and the larger 91����Ƶ community in a fun, social setting,” says physics professor , who judged the contest with biology professor .

Poster sessions are commonly held at scientific conferences, in which “scientists and students present and explain their own findings to those who are interested but are not necessarily experts in that field,” said King, who is also an assistant professor in the program.

Posters were judged on quality of experimental design, quality of research analysis, and quality of presentation, said Herin, also with the biomedicine program. “The presentation included the appearance, accuracy and clarity of the poster, as well as the presenters’ knowledge and explanation of the project.”

Coursework and independent study represented

91����Ƶ’s poster session featured more than 90 participants showcasing research from a variety of courses such as electronics, general chemistry, organic chemistry, statistics for natural sciences, and environmental toxicology. Students in Herin’s advanced human anatomy class (BIO 437) also contributed 3-D visualizations of body systems.

Carpenter and Stoner were among several students presenting water quality research in the nearby Bergton area as part of . Biology professors and are supervising teams of environmental sustainability students working on water quality monitoring and stream restoration in two tributaries of the Shenandoah River and the Chesapeake Bay, with other facets of the project involving and graduate students.

Students in professor ’s general chemistry class focused on phytoremediation of a variety of plants, including carrots, forsythia, corn, cattails, and radishes.

Professor ’s statistics class explored the widest range of topics, including electronic devices owned by students; the fuel economy of cars driven by 91����Ƶ faculty and staff versus those driven by James Madison University faculty and staff; cereal shelf placement based on sugar and price at Food Lion and Kroger; sustainability effectiveness in 91����Ƶ residence halls; and a statistical analysis of the “Settlers of Catan” game.

Two unique projects with professor Steve Cessna explored the rhetoric of science and instructional techniques in the science classroom. In their plant ecophysiology course, Hannah Chappell-Dick, Eli Wenger, and Emma Beachy analyzed plant physiology research literature for changes in the “assignment of agency.” For his biochemistry research course project, Kyle Storc investigated student comprehension and retention of biochemistry topics through the use of two-dimensional tools.

Several posters were the result of independent research that students conducted with faculty members. Camille Williams worked with biology professor to analyze the effects of fermented milk supplementation on gut microbacteria in mice.

Rachel King, who will be a research assistant on this summer, worked under chemistry professor on “A Mixed Methods Approach to Green Chemistry Knowledge Gains in the Organic Laboratory.” Kishbaugh also worked with Ben Stern, who studied the effects of barium toxicity on zebrafish.

Underclass winner links research to upcoming internship

Amanda Williams and Nader Alqahtani paired up to win the underclass division with their project that compared phytoremediation between native and invasive species.

For Williams, a first-year biology and secondary education major, the research project reminded her of how much she cares about the environment.

“I live in the wetlands in Delaware, surrounded by the plants we were experimenting on, cattail and phragmites,” she said, adding that she’ll continue her research in a summer internship with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “I think it’s important to understand the possible negative effects of invasive species, but also to know that sometimes they are just as important as native species.”

Alqahtani, a sophomore biology major who is interested in medical research, said the hands-on learning experience “was a more fun and exciting way to learn than reading and studying.”

And the presentation? That was “the exciting part,” he said, even though English is his second language. “We were��confident that we knew everything about our project and we trusted each other’s ability to make a perfect presentation … when we started presenting and I saw how well we were doing, I got comfortable and started to enjoy telling our audience about our research.”

Poster Session Winners: Upperclass Division

1st: Bergton Stream Restoration: Stream Health Assessment Using Macroinvertebrate Sampling – Sarah Carpenter and Sam Stoner

2nd: Keyless Entry – Stephan Goertzen and Jordan Leaman

3rd: Bergton Stream Restoration: Ecological Monitoring Using Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman and Ryan Keiner

Honorable Mention: An ecophysiological study determining how three different invasive evergreen vines handle the varying winter temperatures by measuring their photosynthesis, transpiration, and Fv/Fm levels – Jonathan Drescher-Lehman, Chris Miller, and Abby Pennington

Honorable Mention: The Effects of Barium Toxicity on Zebrafish (Danio rerio) – Ben Stern

Poster Session Winners: Underclass Division

1st: ��Comparing Phytoremediation between Native and Invasive Species – Nader Alqahtani and Amanda Williams

2nd:����Phytoremediation in Forsythia – Tyler Denlinger and Jeremiah Robinson

3rd: Electronic Devices Owned by 91����Ƶ Students – Sammy Kauffman, Josh Miller, and Roy Ruan

Honorable Mention: Phytoremediation in Various Plants – Aaron Dunmore and Kat Lehman

Gehman led the field of 201 runners, breaking the tape of the 8k course in 25:32.36. He crossed a full two seconds ahead of ODAC rival Harrison Toney from Roanoke, who was second in 25:34.42. It was Gehman’s second individual win of the season, having also taken medalist honors at the Shenandoah Valley Invitational, but this win was obviously the biggest. Gehman not only earned his second consecutive All-Region honor with the finish, but earned the first spot out of the region at the NCAA National Championships, which are next Saturday in Mason, Ohio.

Fellow senior����(Sterling, Ill./Sterling) also earned himself one more race, as he finished 14th overall and claimed the final individual berth out of the region to Nationals. His time of 25:57.10 was nearly four seconds ahead of the next runner, and also put him as the seventh ODAC runner, giving him a big improvement after coming in tenth at the ODAC Championships. Landis also earned back-to-back All-Region accolades.

���DZ��dz��ǰ�������(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) made the move up to also gain All-Region honors. He took 33rd with a time of 26:38.93. He was 43rd in the region last year.

��(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), 51st – 27:09.83, and����(Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton), 71st – 27:37.36, rounded out 91����Ƶ’s top five, as the men totaled 170 points.�� They took fifth out of 28 as a team, one point ahead of Rhodes and just five behind Christopher Newport in fourth.

The team finish is the best regional mark in the “modern” era for Eastern Mennonite.�� The Royals were second in the region in 1979, in a race featuring just four teams.�� They won a seven-team meet in 1978.

“I was so proud of how the men came out and competed,” said Coach Jason Lewkowicz. ��“Their goal all year was to earn a top-5 region finish and they went out and did that in a tough region.”

��(Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) added to the top seven by coming in 79th in 27:46.80.������(Wichita, Kan./Wichita East) was 89th in 27:56.46.

Emory won the team title with 62 points, just ahead of ODAC rival Bridgewater with 65.

Gehman and Landis will be joined at Nationals by����(Dover, Ohio/Dover), who��.�� That meet is this coming Saturday in Ohio and will be run on the same course that the Royals used for the NCAA D-III Pre-Nationals on Sept. 27.

Engineers for a Sustainable World, referred to by its members as ESW, is only a year old, and though it has already achieved significant results, still has not been heard of by the majority of the 91����Ƶ population.

ESW is a national organization with chapters at approximately 40 universities across the country, with the only Virginia chapter located here at 91����Ƶ.

Esther Tian, assistant professor of engineering, started the organization her first year here in hopes of stimulating sustainable projects on campus.

“I thought [ESW] was a really good fit with the mission of the university,” said Tian, who is excited with the inaugural successes of ESW.

Last winter, the club drew up plans for its first project ever: a new greenhouse for 91����Ƶ’s Sustainable Food Initiative.

“We wanted to build a low-budget greenhouse with the materials we had on hand,” said junior Jordan Leaman, student president of ESW and a computer science major. “To make it more sustainable, we designed it to be completely solar-powered.”

In a continued collaboration of 91����Ƶ initiatives, EarthKeepers helped to fund the building of the greenhouse, which cost about $600.

Leaman, along with five other students, completed the building project in one impressive eight-hour workday in March.

In addition, ESW used the greenhouse project design to win second place in the undergraduate division of the American Society for Engineering Education regional competition last spring.

Leaman and a team of three others designed an informative poster detailing the structure and aerodynamics of the project.

Under the guidance of Tian and Leaman, ESW has several projects in the works for their second year, including a solar panel canopy to assist in charging the physical plant’s golf carts.

“There are so many possibilities with solar,” said Leaman, “but right now, we’re doing what we can with the limited resources we have.”

In defining ESW, both Tian and Leaman emphasized the discovery of workable solutions to everyday problems.

“Our projects benefit the university and the community,” said Tian proudly. “Our club is a little different because we plan projects instead of activities.”

First-year student Isaiah Williams enjoys the practicality and project-based orientation of the club. “It allows me to utilize what I learned in engineering class and apply it to real life scenarios,” he said.

Like Williams, most members of ESW are students in the pre-engineering program. Others, like Leaman, found their interests sparked by Tian’s “Introduction to Engineering” class.

Leaman remarked, “Engineering has always been my passion, but [Esther] really drew me into the club. I’m excited for the upcoming years; we have some cool projects planned.”

All of 91����Ƶ’s ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.�� Men’s volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the eighth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fifth year in a row.�� With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,558 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2013-14 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.�� He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC’s home on the Internet at��. ��Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on����and follow����on Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.����

91����Ƶ’s ODAC All-Academic Team
Elizabeth Alderfer – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Kayley Argenbright – Women’s Volleyball
Jordan Aylor – Softball
Becky Barrett – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Tyler Brenneman – Men’s Soccer
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Lauren Campbell – Softball
McKenna Carter – Women’s Volleyball
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Robert Cook – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas – Softball
Hannah Daley – Field Hockey
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Paige DeBell – Field Hockey
Tyler Denlinger – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Katie Eckman – Women’s Cross Country
Mariah Foltz – Softball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Erica Garber – Women’s Track & Field
Carlos Garcia – Men’s Track & Field
Abi Gardner – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women’s Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Joe Hall – Baseball
Rebecca Hardy – Women’s Volleyball
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel – Baseball
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Morgan Hill – Women’s Soccer
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Brendan Jeschke – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Viktor Kaltenstein – Men’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Rachel Kennel – Women’s Volleyball
Louise Krall – Field Hockey
Lanae Kreider – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Landis – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Jordan Leaman – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Jake Lind – Men’s Soccer
Lexi Link – Women’s Volleyball
Mariah Martin – Field Hockey
Tim Martin – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Dilmer Martinez – Men’s Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Brad Matthias – Baseball
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Macson McGuigan – Men’s Soccer
Chris Miller – Men’s Track & Field
Katie Miller – Women’s Volleyball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Nisly – Men’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Ian Norris – Baseball
Nora Osei – Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball
Jolee Paden – Women’s Cross Country
Jesse Parker – Men’s Cross Country
Hannah Patterson – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Dylan Polley – Men’s Soccer
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
D Probst – Women’s Volleyball
Casey Racer – Softball
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Krista Rittenhouse – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Kyle Salladay – Baseball
Juni Schirch – Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field
Caleb Schlabach – Men’s Golf
Chanel Shands – Women’s Basketball
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Kayla Smeltzer – Women’s Volleyball
Molly Smith – Softball
Nicole Smith – Softball
Ashten Spencer – Women’s Soccer
Mandy Stowers – Field Hockey
Ryan Thomas – Men’s Soccer
Shannan Thompson – Women’s Basketball
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Londen Wheeler – Men’s Track & Field
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Alex Wynn – Men’s Track & Field
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Alena Yoder – Women’s Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Chris Yoder – Men’s Basketball
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball

A poster describing the project – a solar-powered greenhouse – also won second place in the first- and second-year Engineering Design Team Division at a of the , held in Georgia at Mercer University from March 30 to April 1, 2014.

Three members of 91����Ƶ’s chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World () (the first chapter in Virginia) traveled to the conference along with faculty advisor , assistant professor of .

“Our poster was unique because it described something tangible that we had built,” says ESW club president Jordan Leaman. “Many of the other projects were research-based and not very practical.”

Earlier this winter, the seed of the greenhouse project germinated in a brainstorming session between first-year roommates Leaman and major Jonathan Nisly. Building a greenhouse for was Nisly’s idea. Funding for the project came from Earthkeepers.

“A lot of people build these structures with 20-foot lengths of PVC pipe, adding as many hoops as you want for the length of the greenhouse,” says Leaman.

Two weeks prior to the conference, six ESW club members assembled the 12 x 50-foot skeleton of the greenhouse, sealing it with a 6 mil plastic sheet the following week. The interior was 20 degrees warmer than outside temperatures the next day.

To complete the project, the club will apply for a grant from Engineers for a Sustainable World for fans and supplemental solar heat to further extend the growing season through the winter months.

The aerodynamic shape of the curved tunnel helps with wind resistance. Without fittings on the pipes, the structure can bend and flex with high winds. (The students admit they called back to campus to confirm the greenhouse withstood the 50-mph gusts that blew through Harrisonburg while they were at the conference.)

That weekend, the students from 91����Ƶ had the opportunity to mix with young engineers from other schools who presented a range of projects, and learned about humanitarian engineering projects sponsored by Mercer University.

“The conference was kind of a whirlwind of new ideas and information being thrown at us,” says Nisly.

A presentation on prosthetics design and testing – part of a Mercer project working with amputees in Vietnam – gave the students insights into practical applications of engineering principles, says Tian.

“Engineers working to promote environmental, economic and social sustainability is very important to me,” she says. One of Tian’s first initiatives after joining 91����Ƶ’s and faculty in the fall of 2013 was to start an ESW chapter. She is pleased that the club’s first project received regional recognition.

In the poster’s conclusion, the ESW students describe the greenhouse as “a valuable asset to the university, as well as an opportunity for the ESW club to put our skills to work. It is a project that can be used as a model for other academic institutions, and we hope its impact will reach beyond our campus.”

Pre-engineering students at 91����Ƶ have successfully moved from a strong foundation in math, physics and engineering classes to excel in specialized engineering schools at universities such as Penn State, Virginia Tech, and the University of Virginia, says Tian.

Chappell-Dick�� took second place in the 800m, and was easily the top D-III finisher, as she broke her own school record with a time of 2:12.95.�� Her record from last spring was 2:13.19.�� The next D-III runner was more than seven seconds behind Chappell-Dick.������(Goshen, Ind./Goshen) also had a solid finish in the event, crossing 13th in 2:26.95.�� She was third among runners from 91����Ƶ’s level.

Bane also broke her own school mark in the hammer throw, landing at 39.28m (128-10ft).�� Her previous best was 38.43m (126-1ft), also set in 2013.

��(Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) moved into 91����Ƶ’s top 10 in the 5000m, setting her PR at 19:37.29.

On the men’s side, the Royals had eight top-10 finishes and three new ODAC qualifiers.

The highest finish went to����(Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite), who ran the 3000m steeplechase and took fourth with a final time of 10:21.78.�� The finish pits him fifth in 91����Ƶ history.

Meanwhile the 4x100m relay team crossed in fifth with a time of 43.69.������(Freeman, S.D./Freeman Academy),����(Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside),����(Nelson, Va./Nelson County) and����(Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) combined for the No. 5 time in the program’s books.

��(Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) and����(Sterling, Ill./Sterling) looked good in the 5000m, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively.�� Gehman was the top D-III finisher in 15:45.92, while Landis was right behind in 15:48.88.������(Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) tallied 13th and was the fourth D-III runner with a time of 16:28.89.

In the 400m, Winters was seventh and the top D-III male with his time of 50.41.�� He earns a trip to the ODAC Championships with his finish and is sixth in program history.������(Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle) was three spots behind Winters in tenth with a time of 51.74.

��(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) had an eighth-place finish in the 800m, timing at 1:57.54.������(Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) was just outside of the top 10 in 11th, with his finish of 1:59.31.�� He was also 11th in the 1500m in 4:07.30, qualifying for ODACs in the process.

��(Richmond, Va./Highland Springs), who joined the team with the recent completion of the men’s volleyball season, finished tenth with his first efforts in the long jump.�� He also earned a trip to the ODAC meet with a landing at 6.37m (20-10.75ft).�� Moore was also the top D-III finisher.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams are back in action next Saturday at the Mason Spring Invitational, hosted by D-I George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Ten of Eastern Mennonite’s 11 cross country men set their personal records at the meet.�� The Royals took 21st out of 28 teams in the gold race, but were in second place out of the D-III schools, topping ODAC rival Lynchburg by one place, but finishing behind Guilford College.

As he has at every race this fall, junior (Millersville, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) led the way.�� He finished 59th with a time of 25:53.79 on the 8k course, whacking nearly 35 seconds of his PR.�� Running in a field of 229 runners, mostly from D-I programs, Gehman was fourth among the D-III athletes, coming in behind a trio of Guilford men.

(Sterling, Ill./Sterling) continued his rise after running his first race two weeks ago.�� The junior crossed 123rd with a time of 26:56.24, an improvement of more than a minute from his previous race.�� Freshmen (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance) and (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) weren’t that far apart from each other, with Thibodeaux timing at 27:30.24 in 154th and Nisly charting at 27:43.64 in 163rd, both slicing time off their PRs as well.

91����Ƶ’s final three runners held together in a pack, finishing with three seconds of each other.�� (Wichita, Kan./Wichita East) led the trio in 28:48.21, followed by (Lexington, Va./Parry McCluer) at 28:49.53 and (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) at 28:51.54.

There was also an 8k open race, giving all of the men on the Royals’ roster a chance to race.�� (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) charted a time of 28:43.36, while (Mt. Jackson, Va./Stonewall Jackson) came in at 29:08.12.�� (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) crossed the finish in 29:57.76, followed by (Dayton, Va./Benjamin Logan) in 30:42.46.�� All the open times were PRs.

“I was really pleased with our guys today,” said Coach Jason Lewkowicz.�� “Our top four were really strong and we had numerous personal best times from guys in both races.”

In the gold race, 91����Ƶ finished with 580 team points, just one spot ahead of Lynchburg at 617.�� The Hornets were picked to finish second in the ODAC’s preseason poll.�� Guilford, which was tabbed third before the season started, had 447 points.

The Royals get a week off before seeing how much they have improved from the start of the year, running at the ODAC Championships on Nov. 2 in Farmville, Va. In the ODAC Preview meet on the same course on Aug. 30, the men finished sixth out of ODAC teams.