At the Bast-Cregger Invitational, the first meet of the season, he set a new personal record in the long jump at 6.92 meters, which is now the No. 2 mark in 91����Ƶ history, and was the top D-III finisher in both the long jump and the triple jump. He was chosen as the ODAC Field Athlete of the Week following his performance.

To the casual observer, this seems like a phenomenal start to any track season. Amoateng, however, has high expectations, and took his success with a grain of salt.

“I wanted to start out strong and I set a mark, the kind of marks I wanted to hit,” he said. “I maybe did not hit it, but it’s a great start for me, for the season. Better than last year.”

Amoateng is also conscious of how going to nationals last spring affects him going into this season.

“Going to outdoor nationals last year, I don’t have a target on my back, but I have a lot of expectations to settle,” he said.

In preseason training Amoateng focused on his performance and his season under coach Michael Allen, who holds the 91����Ƶ records that Amoateng is looking to break this season.

“Honestly, working with him is probably the best thing I ever had,” Amoateng said. “I think it’s a blessing for me to just be coached by a record-holder. He expects me to break both of his records this year, and I’m aiming for the challenge.”

“Amoateng is not only an athlete, he is a worker,” Allen said. “This season I expect him to shatter both the indoor and outdoor jump records while keeping ODACs and Nationals the focal point.”

As a junior, Amoateng is looking to provide leadership to the team this year, to “make sure everyone’s positive, just make sure I take some of the freshmen under my wing, to make sure they adjust to college track well, or just transition to college in general,” he said.

A social work major, Amoateng hopes to work in a school or a hospital after he graduates, and coach on the side.

When Amoateng was in seventh grade, his teacher noticed Amoateng’s speed in gym class and suggested he go out for track.

“What keeps me going is just this motivation to keep going and run the sport I love, the sport that took me to college, and that I enjoyed the most,” he said.

Senior (Staunton, Va./Riverheads) thoroughly dominated the throwing events, easily winning the shot put and weight throw. He was named the Athlete of the Meet, the first 91����Ƶ male since Michael Allen in 2011, and the first male to win the title at the ODAC’s Indoor Championship.

Classmate (Broadway, Va./Broadway) bettered his prelimary qualifying time with a first-place finish of 8.28 in the finals. His time broke both the ODAC conference and championships records.  It was also Robinson’s third ODAC Champion title of his career, repeating as the 60m hurdles champion after also winning the 110m hurdles from outdoor season last spring.

Lagging team health hindered the women, who finished sixth, despite a pair of individual championships for senior (Bluffton, Ohio/Bluffton) who defended her titles in the 800m and mile. Bridgewater edged Washington and Lee 135 to 133 for the team title.

Two Royals also won scholar-athlete awards. Junior was voted the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Scholar-Athlete.  A biology/pre-med major with a minor in business administration, Denlinger holds a 3.98 GPA is also a four-time All-ODAC honoree.  This is the second straight indoor scholar award for Denlinger.

Chappell-Dick also earned her fifth consecutive ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Scholar-Athlete award.  She is a biology major with minors in coaching, exercise science and honors.  Chappell-Dick holds a 3.84 GPA and has won every scholar-athlete honor possible from the ODAC since the beginning of her junior season.

Men’s results

Heizer PRed in the shot put and the weight throw, while also claiming the three best throws in each at the meet.  In the shot put, Heizer’s best landed at a monster 15.81m (51-10.75ft), not only winning gold but also vaulting him to No. 25 in the nation.  Then in the weight throw, he landed at 15.06m (49-5.25ft).  Both improved on his No. 2 spots in the 91����Ƶ record books.

(Lynchburg, Va./Heritage) claimed fourth behind teammate Robinson in the 60m hurldes race in 8.68, while (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) took sixth in 8.73.  It was a PR for Faint.

Jumper (Bristow, Va./Patriot) had a great first effort, as the freshman took All-ODAC Third Team honors in the triple jump at 13.61m (44-8ft).  His PR distance was the third-best effort in 91����Ƶ history.

Amoateng then cleared 1.79m (5-10.5ft) in the high jump to claim seventh.  The freshman also grabbed seventh in the long jump, landing his best at 6.36m (20-10.5ft).  Both efforts were PRs, with the long jump distance putting him No. 8 all-time at 91����Ƶ.

(Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) earned third place in the 800m for All-ODAC Third Team status.  The junior crossed in 1:57.24, behind only a pair of Bridgewater runners.

Running partner (Mount Sidney, Va./Fort Defiance) had a similar finish in the mile, settling for third in 4:25.98.  He then took fifth in the 3000m with a time of 9:03.55.  Thibodeaux was five seconds behind four runners clumped within just over a second of each other.

The 4×400 relay team staked a third-place.  The foursome of Faint, (Lynchburg, Va./E.C. Glass), (Salem, Va./Salem) and Denlinger finished in 3:27.32. Faint had a great all-around individual effort, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the 400m, clocking in at 50.83.  The sophomore’s PR also bumped him up to No. 8 in the 91����Ƶ’s record books.  Sampson also grabbed two points for taking seventh in the event at 51.47.  He comes in at No. 9 in 91����Ƶ history.

The distance medley relay team added two points towards the team total with a seventh-place finish.  (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg), (Philadelphia, Pa./La Salle), (Dayton, Va./Ben Logan) and (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) came in at 11:52.21.

Women’s results

Chappell-Dick broke the ODAC Championships record in the mile, registering a time 5:03.54.  She was more than four seconds better than the previous best at the ODAC Indoor Meet, beating Carmen Graves’ time of 5:07.84.

Then in the 800m, she edged Marissa Combs of Virginia Wesleyan in 2:20.62, just ahead of Coombs’ 2:20.80.  She has now won the last four indoor and outdoor 800m ODAC titles, as well as the last two miles, which are only an indoor event.

Sophomore (Dover, Ohio/Dover), who won the 3000m and 5000m last year, took fifth in the 5000m with a time of 19:36.21.  After finishing runner-up last year, (St. Joseph, Ill./St. Joseph-Ogden) also didn’t run the 3000m.

The distance medley relay team just missed defending last year’s title, coming in second.  (Goshen, Ind./Goshen), (King George, Va./King George), (Manheim, Pa./Hempfield) and Paden put together a time of 13:14.36, finishing nearly four seconds behind Bridgewater’s winning foursome.

(Bedford, Va./Liberty) finished fourth in the triple jump.  Her first two jumps each landed at 10.57m (34-8.25ft), but Lynchburg’s Shanice Clarke edged her with one late jump at 10.66m (34-11.75ft).  Kittrell then settled for eighth in the long jump, sticking her best at 4.78m (15-8.25ft).  She was less than an inch from seventh place and 3.5 inches from sixth.

The 4x400m relay team of Williams, Yoder, Chappell-Dick and Schirch took fifth, combined for a time of 4:13.85.

(Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) claimed sixth in the 60m dash, crossing in 8.15 in the finals.  The freshman’s PR improves her No. 2 time in the 91����Ƶ record books.

In the 400m, Williams also finished sixth.  She was second in her heat, clocking at 1:02.54.  Pole vaulter (Denton, Md./North Caroline) was another of the women who finished sixth, as she cleared 2.22m (7-3.25ft).

(Portsmouth, Va./Churchland) finished seventh in the shot put, with her best toss landing at 10.10m (33-2ft).

The six honorees are: senior (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County) from men’s track & field,

junior (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) from baseball, junior (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) from softball, sophomore (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) from women’s track & field, freshman (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) from women’s golf, and senior from (Keezletown, VA/Spotswood) men’s golf.

The 2013 ODAC/StellarOne Sportsmanship Teams are awarded to each of 11 spring sports sponsored by the conference.  This marks the fourth year the league has recognized these fine student-athletes for their excellence in sportsmanship.

“The conference prides itself on positive sportsmanship and encouraging student-athletes to lead by example,” said Brad Bankston, commissioner of the ODAC. “Each one of the honorees has been selected by the coaches in recognition of their conduct in the arena.”

The ODAC has a rich tradition in promoting fair play and good sportsmanship in each sport across the league.  The character of the conference’s student-athletes on and off the field is a representation of not only the individuals and teams, but also the institutions they play for.

“All of us at StellarOne Bank are excited to be an official corporate sponsor, touching the lives of so many in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference,” said Angela Ross, chief branding officer for StellarOne.

Chappell-Dick again responded with her best running against the best athletes. The freshman ran the 800m in a heat of D-I Virginia Tech athletes, and flew across the finish line in 2:13.19, shaving more than a full second off of her 91����Ƶ record time. Chappell-Dick had timed a 2:14.34 in March at the George Mason Invite.  She finished third at the twilight meet, crossing in front of five Hokie runners.

With the NCAA Outdoor National Championships approaching on May 23-25, Chappell-Dick is 17th in the nation in the 800m. The top 22 times at the end of the season will qualify for nationals.

Senior (Fork Union, Va./Louisa County) topped the field in the triple jump and upped his season best distance for the third straight time. Allen totaled 13.61m on his best attempt.  He still has some work to do to qualify for nationals for a final time, as the No. 22 jumper in the nation has a distance of 14.29m.

(Broadway, Va./Broadway) ran in the 110m hurdles and clocked a time of 15.75. He missed his PR, which is 15.50.

The Royals will have one more chance to improve their times for national consideration on Monday, when they head to the Swat Final Qualifying Meet, hosted by Swarthmore in Chester, Pa.

Faculty, staff and fellow students nominated the recipients, who were cited for their “significant and verifiable impact” on the university and on student life; for their contributions to developing the institution’s positive image; for substantial contributions to the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County area and beyond; for their high academic and social standing; and their embodiment of 91����Ƶ’s shared values of Christian discipleship, community, service and .

They wore gold and blue cords as they graduated on Sunday, April 28.

Blue represents strength of conviction that one person can help to create a better institution or community. Gold represents the love of spirit and yearning toward creating a better university environment or community.

2013 recipients

• Nels Akerson, a biology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Michael Allen, a liberal arts degree recipient from Fork Union, Va.
• Jossimar Diaz-Castro, a philosophy and theology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Ryan Eshleman, a philosophy and theoogy and biology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Darian Harnish, an accounting degree recipient from Manheim, Pa.
• Josh Kanagy, a psychology degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.
• Julia Schmidt, a history degree recipient from Pandora, Ohio.
• Hannah Schrock, a biology degree recipient from Kalona, Ia.
• Kelley Schroder, a music degree recipient from Leesburg, Va.
• James Souder, an environmental sustainability degree recipient from Harrisonburg, Va.

Both of Eastern Mennonite’s women ran in the 800m, and freshman (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) destroyed her own school record and crossed with the top D-III time at the meet.  She flashed across the line in 2:14.34, shaving more than three seconds off her previous record of 2:17.47.

(Harrisonburg, Va./Spotswood) had a solid showing in the same event, clocking a time of 2:23.63.

Men’s jumper (Fork Union, Va./Louisa County) was limited by a foot injury and landed at 12.80m in the triple jump.

The Old Dominion Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships are this coming Friday and Saturday, hosted by Washington and Lee in Lexington, Va.

(Dalton, OH/Central Christian) won the high jump by two heights, clearing 1.99m (6-6.25ft).  His measurement also put him at the No. 2 spot on the 91����Ƶ all-time list, behind only Phil Landes, who cleared 2.03m (6-8ft) in 1987.

(Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) had a good day in the sprints.  He charted the No. 7 time in 91����Ƶ history in the 200m dash, crossing in 22.73 seconds.  In the 100m dash, McBride took the No. 8 spot with a time of 11.22.

Distance runner (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) finished less than a quarter of a second behind Bridgewater’s Luke Sohl in the 800m run.  The senior’s time of 1:58.47 gave him sixth place at the duals, and the No. 8 spot in the 91����Ƶ books.

(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) continued to impress in the 400m hurdles, as he set a new personal record at 58.15.  He was also part of a 4x100m relay team which took the seventh-best time in 91����Ƶ history.  The team of (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County), McBride, Bush and (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) clocked at 44.00, also taking third at the event.

(Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) was the top 91����Ƶ finisher in the 400m with a time of 52.14.

Allen’s best leap in the long jump landed at 6.46m (21-2.5ft), but he fouled on all three attempts in the triple jump.

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) and (Salina, KS) both competed in the throws.  Sloan was the top Royal in the shot put at 11.36m (37-3.25ft), while Walker was ahead in the hammer throw at 21.97m (72-1ft).  Sloan also landed at 44.82m (147-0ft) in the javelin, for fourth at the meet.

The women’s team had fewer athletes participating, but freshman (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton) flashed some top ten times in two events.  She tried her hand at the shorter distances Saturday and won the 400m dash with the fifth-best time in 91����Ƶ history.  Chappell-Dick also ran the 200m dash, and finished with the No. 8 time in 91����Ƶ’s books at 27.64 seconds.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) timed at 5:19.44 in the 1500m run, followed by teammate (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) at 5:26.96.

In the throws, (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) set a new PR in the hammer throw, with her first heave landing at 34.43m (112-11ft).  She also had a distance of 27.17m (89-2ft) in the discus.

(Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) landed at 24.52m (80-5ft) in the discus and 26.80m (87-11ft) in the javelin.  ‘s (Archbold, OH/Archbold) best throw in the javelin measured at 19.90m (65-3ft).

Eastern Mennonite’s track teams return to Lynchburg next Saturday for the Liberty Invitational.  It will be their final tune-up for the ODAC Championships on April 19 & 20.

(Broadway, VA/Broadway) took second in the 100m hurdles while also charting the No. 5 run in 91����Ƶ history.  His time of 15.82 in the finals got him a silver behind the winning time of 15.53 from Ben Martindell of Bridgewater.

(Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) won the 400m hurdles in his first try at the event.  He crossed the finish in 58.34, ahead of Martindell at 59.02.

In the 100m dash, (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) showed the biggest improvement between his preliminary and his finals time, taking second at 11.47.  He just missed the gold to RC’s Trevor Hunt at 11.43.  He also won the 200m dash, ahead of teammate (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County).  McBride broke the tape in 23.28, followed by Allen at 23.56.

(Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) won the 400m by nearly a half second, clocking in at 51.47.

(Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) took the gold in the 1500m run, finishing six seconds ahead of teammate (Wichita, KS/Wichita East).  Nafziger’s winning time was 4:17.04, while Parker came in at 4:23.00.  (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) took sixth place in 4:35.61.

Nafziger and Parker also highlight the 800m.  Nafziger took fourth with a time of 2:04.70 while Parker also pointed, getting sixth in 2:10.98.

In the relays, the 91����Ƶ team in the 4x100m took second and charted the No. 7 time in 91����Ƶ history.  The squad of Robinson, Allen, Watson and McBride crossed in 44.04, just behind Bridgewater’s foursome in 43.73.

The 4x400m team didn’t set an 91����Ƶ time, but did manage to win the event at the meet.  Bush, Robinson, (Nelson, VA/Nelson County) and Watson combined for a time of 3:31.92, winning by more than three seconds.

In the field events, (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) and (Dalton, OH/Central Christian) were in a group of four men who each had a best jump of 1.82m.  Vrolijk ended up second based on jumps, while King settled for fourth.

Allen won the long jump and took second in the triple jump.  In the long jump, the senior landed at 6.63m, while in the triple he measured at 12.22m.

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) led the way in the throws.  He won the javelin with a fling of 47.40m, the No. 7 distance in the 91����Ƶ record books.  Sloan took third in the hammer throw with the No. 6 measurement in 91����Ƶ history at 32.15m.  Then in the shot put he just missed gold, getting second in 11.29m, behind the winning throw of 11.54m.

The Royals grabbed 152 points for the team win, ahead of host Roanoke at 142.

On the women’s side, Chafin Brumfield (Harrisonburg, VA/Spotswood) and Jolee Paden (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Odgen) had big days in the middle distances.  Brumfield won the 800m run in 2:30.35, with Paden taken second in 2:32.77.  Hannah Patterson (Puyallup, WA/Mountainview International) was fourth in 2:44.27 while Saralyn Mast (Gap, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) took sixth in 2:48.99.

Paden then won the 1500m by 4.51 seconds.  Her time of 5:05.15 earned the gold and the No. 8 spot in the program records.  Brumfield also grabbed a No. 8 all-time spot in the 400m.  She finished third at the meet in 1:03.19.

Becca Borg (Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula) approached the 91����Ƶ record in the javelin, taking third place at the Roanoke meet in the process.  Borg speared at 30.18m, which was second in 91����Ƶ history only to Connie Steiner’s throw of 33.08m in 2004.

Alyssa Bane (Strasburg, VA/Strasburg) also earned points in the throws.  She just missed her PR in the hammer throw, taking fifth at 31.18m.  In the discus, the sophomore landed at 28.14m, good for sixth place.

The Lady Royals finished with 48 points, taking third place at the meet, ahead of Hood College with 38.  Host Roanoke easily won with 243 points.

The Eastern Mennonite track teams are busy next weekend, participating in two meets.  A group of athletes will go to Lexington on Friday and Saturday for the VMI-W&L Carnival.  Another group will also participate in the Jopson Invitational in nearby Bridgewater.

Junior (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) highlighted the men’s side, as he took down 91����Ƶ records in both the 1000m and mile runs.  In the one mile, Nafziger crossed the finish in 4:26.77, breaking Kevin Beachy’s record of 4:28.96 which was set in 2007.  He was also the top D-III finisher at the meet, which was filled with athletes from all three NCAA divisions.

Freshman (Grottoes, VA/Spotswood) had a personal record in the mile, grabbing the eighth-best time in 91����Ƶ history at 4:35.86.

Nafziger also broke the school record in the 1000m, as he was sixth overall at the Liberty Open and the second D-III finisher.  His time of 2:35.32 beat out Richy Bikko from 2009 by more than three seconds at 2:38.71.

Orellana was again close behind, taking the fourth spot in the 91����Ƶ books at 2:48.02.

(Dalton, OH/Central Christian), in his first year of competing in the high jump, nearly broke the school record.  The junior cleared the bar at 1.89m (6-2.25ft) to take second among D-III athletes at the meet.  King’s height was also second only to (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County), who set the record of 1.92m (6-3.5ft) in 2009.  (Harrisonburg, VA/Eastern Mennonite) tied his personal best from last week, which has him tenth in 91����Ƶ history at 1.79m (5-10.5ft.)

Allen, returning to the team for his final season after missing a year on his cross cultural study, notched his PR in the 60m dash.  He timed in at 7.38, which also landed him fifth in 91����Ƶ history.  (Syracuse, NY/East Syracuse Minoa) crossed the finish in 7.54.

In the 400m dash, (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts) had a solid finish, as his time of 53.08 had him third among the D-III runners.  (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) was a fraction back at 53.34.

The Royals had a busy field in the 200m dash, as Bush led a trio of runners with a time of 24.14.  Watson came in at 24.19, with Allen crossing in 24.21.  In the 800m run, (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) finished one spot ahead of teammate (Dayton, VA/Benjamin Logan).  Their times were 2:10.93 and 2:13.29, respectively.

In other field events, Allen, although rusty in his return to the triple jump, was still the second D-III finisher, as his best leap totaled 13.11m (43-0.25ft).

(Ooltewah, TN/McCallie School) just missed his PRs in both the shot put and the weight throw.  In the shot, he charted an 11.85m (38-10.5ft), while he landed at 11.93m (39-1.75ft) in the weight throw.

For the women, what they lacked in quantity on Saturday they made up for in quality.

Hannah Chappell-Dick (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton), a week after breaking the 91����Ƶ record in 800m, added two more program marks to her trophy shelf.  In the one mile run, the freshman cruised across the finish in 5:12.89.  She was the top collegiate runner at the meet, notched the top time in the ODAC this season, and broke her own school record by more than 12 seconds.  Chappell-Dick had already set the 91����Ƶ record in her first meet on Dec. 1, clocked then at 5:25.09.

Classmate Jolee Paden (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Odgen) had actually broken Chappell-Dick’s first record in the event in an earlier heat, clocking a time of 5:24.93.  Paden settles for second on the 91����Ƶ chart, along with the third-best time in the ODAC this year.  Hannah Clemmer (Harleysville, PA/Christopher Dock) crossed in 6:03.30 at the meet, with Saralyn Mast (Gap, PA/Lancaster Mennonite) a few steps behind in 6:13.08.

In the 3000m run, Chappell-Dick added a third 91����Ƶ record.  She was the top D-III finisher with a time of 10:48.48, beating Andrea Good’s record of 10:51.49 from 2002 by just over three seconds.  It was also the third-best time in the ODAC this year.

The only other Royals women running at the Liberty Open on Saturday were Chafin Brumfield (Harrisonburg, VA/Spotswood) and Juni Schirch (Goshen, IN/Goshen), and both set PRs in the 800m.  Brumfield finished with a time of 2:33.67, taking ninth in 91����Ƶ history.  Schirch charted 2:34.68, good for tenth in the program’s books.

The Eastern Mennonite teams head south again next weekend, participating at the JDL Fast Track Invite in Winston-Salem, NC.

“There is a new expectation of excellence,” he said, “and while we are still growing and have lots of room to improve, the mindset is one that is focused on being competitive and keeping the momentum going.  Since so many of the cross country runners are also running track, it will be great to get the entire crew together and continue to pursue our goals.”

The track campaign starts with the indoor season opener this Saturday at the Liberty Kickoff in Lynchburg.  It gets going in earnest after the upcoming Christmas break.

Lewkowicz is excited to see his team continue to grow in number and talent.  The combined rosters totaled a mere 13 student-athletes the year before he took over the program.  This year there are 40 men and women on the teams.

“Our team size has more or less doubled from last year which is a plus,” said Lewkowicz.  “We have added a number of quality athletes that will help us be more competitive in the this year.  There is a lot of energy with this group and the buzz that was created during the cross country season has carried over to our track team.  We still lack depth is several critical areas but we will have a presence in most events which is exciting.”

Aside from all of the new faces on the roster this year, a big addition is the return of jumper Michael Allen (Fork Union, VA/Louisa County).  In three previous seasons, he won multiple ODAC crowns as well as trips to the national meet.  Allen is back for his senior campaign after missing last spring while studying off campus through 91����Ƶ’s cross cultural program.

“It is great to have someone like Michael on our team for a number of reasons,” explained Lewkowicz.  “He brings natural leadership and has competed at a high level, so he knows what it takes.  He is admittedly rusty after taking a year off but he is working hard with Coach (Britton) Olinger and is beginning to regain his form.  The talent is there and the potential is immense, although everyone will have to be patient as he works his way back into top shape.”

As happened this fall with the cross country teams, an influx of new talent should challenge some school records and buoy the process of rebuilding the Eastern Mennonite track & field program.

“On the women’s side, we will be very strong in the middle distance events,” Lewkowicz said.  “We have four freshmen women who have run a faster 800m time in high school than our current school record, so that is exciting.”

The coach pointed to his top cross country runner, (Bluffton, OH/Bluffton), to lead that group, saying that she has potential to become an NCAA qualifier during her time at 91����Ƶ.  Lewkowicz also singled out the leadership and athleticism of senior (Berryville, VA/Clarke County), who is switching from middle distance to sprints and jumps this year.  He also expects to see a few ODAC scorers from a strong crew of throwers.

“On the men’s side, it’s exciting to think about their potential to really make a jump in the ODAC rankings,” said Lewkowicz.

The Royals scored in the single digits in last year’s ODAC Championships.

Lewkowicz said that local product Richard Robinson (Broadway, VA/Broadway) could be one of the top freshmen hurdlers in the nation, with both he and Allen challenging for ODAC golds in their respective events.  Dan Nafziger (Harrisonburg, VA/Harrisonburg) and Carlos Orellana (Grottoes, VA/Spotswood), the anchors of the cross country team, will also strengthen the distance group on the track team.

Other women Lewkowicz mentioned as likely to make some noise include: (Harrisonburg, VA/Spotswood) in the 400m and 800m, thrower (Waynesboro, VA/Waynesboro), middle distance runner (St. Joseph, IL/St. Joseph-Odgen) and (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) in the steeplechase.  For the men, Lewkowicz also highlighted transfer Philip Watson (Philadelphia, PA/La Salle) and Jonathan Bush (Pottstown, PA/Owen J. Roberts), both in the 200m and 400m.

As they prepare for their first meet, team unity is proving to be a strength.

“It has been a short turnaround from the cross country season so we are working to bring the team together and get focused on our common goals of honoring God with our team while pursuing excellence in our endeavors,” Lewkowicz explained.  “I am blessed with a dedicated and talented coaching staff and we are all on the same page in what it takes to prepare our athletes to compete at a high level.  Our hope is that these fundamentals honed and the fitness gained over the fall will be maintained over the Christmas break so we can come out in January and continue to progress.”

While always brimming with optimism, Lewkowicz knows neither his men nor women have the depth to grab a team title at an ODAC meet this year.  But he thinks a top four or five finish would be an encouraging sign of progress, both to his athletes and to the general public.

“We have a number of athletes with the potential to be All-ODAC or ODAC champions, and there are a few who have ambitions of qualifying for the NCAA Championships,” the coach said.  “There are a number of school records that we expect to fall this year and we will be keeping track of them on our bulletin board outside of the athletics office.  We’re hoping for weekly updates to it!”

He also expects those records to be celebrated by the entire team, as well as for them to have higher goals that might not be seen on paper.

“While (breaking records) are individual goals, so to speak, they are accomplishments that would be appreciated and shared by the team as a whole,” said Lewkowicz.  “Our main non-quantitative goals are to be a team that holds itself to a high standard morally, and ethically, to maintain humility and integrity, and to seek to honor our great God in all that we do, win or lose.”

Michael Allen’s own accomplishments began to weigh on him. With a list of accolades as long as his jumps, the 91����Ƶ track & field star struggled last season to match the expectations he had for himself.

Then came the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships last weekend in Salem, when Allen broke out again. The junior won his third straight long-jump title, and then crushed the competition in the triple jump with a 14.49-meter (47.54-feet) distance that provisionally qualified him for the NCAA National Championships, which begin on May 26 in Delaware, Ohio. The next-best jump by anyone was 13.78 meters. (This marks the third time in as many years he has competed at the national level in his sport.)

Allen was also named ODAC Male Athlete of the Meet.

“I feel like it took me out of the shadow of my freshman year – the freshman-year Michael,” he said Tuesday about the weekend performance. “When I went [14.49 meters] my second jump of finals, [I was like] ‘Alright, let’s go.’ And then my third jump, I felt, really took me out of that shadow. It probably would have been like a 50-foot jump but I reached for it and messed up and my knee locked up on me. … It just showed me that I’m going to be a 50-foot jumper, or I can be a 50-foot jumper.”

A Fork Union native, Allen set 91����Ƶ records in the indoor and outdoor triple jump, indoor and outdoor long jump, and indoor high jump during his freshman year in 2009. An inability to find consistency and a minor left-foot injury hampered his sophomore season – at least by his standards. But he feels like he’s back to top form.

Allen’s domination of the triple-jump may be a bit unconventional. He’s 5-foot-10, not the ideal 6-2. He’s a burly 185 pounds, not the typical rope-thin build. He has flat feet, not arches.

And he doesn’t really have a jumping coach. Pete Nelson, a 2008 91����Ƶ graduate, is the interim track coach, and admits he doesn’t have much jumping expertise. (Jason Lewkowicz will be 91����Ƶ’s new cross country and track & field coach beginning in fall 2011 after holding the same position at Hannibal-LaGrange University for three years.)

But he and Allen are learning together, Nelson said, and it’s worked out just fine so far.

“I’m not an expert in the triple-jump – or I wasn’t,” Nelson said. “I feel like I’ve learned a lot from him. We use a lot of videos. Like, I’ll take videos and we’ll watch them together and see what area we’re going to work on this week.”

The videos have helped a pensive athlete who credits much of his recent success to visualization. Allen, whose face is framed by dark-rimmed, angular FUBU glasses, can rattle off details from just about every meet in his career. Ask him a simple question about technique and his answer is a winding story including the weather on a certain afternoon, what an opponent said to him before a jump or what his body felt like as he exploded into the sand.

While he remembers just about everything, Allen doesn’t seem to dwell on it.

Newman said that at a last-chance meet at Virginia Tech during this past indoor season, Allen registered six jumps, all illegal – a five-hour roundtrip netting nothing.

“But he bounced back,” Newman said. “Two weeks later he won triple-jump at Roanoke College in outdoor. Now he’s already qualified for nationals. He thinks about those types of negative experiences that he’s had, but I don’t think it affects him in a negative way. It just motivates to work harder.”

While Newman might be more of motivational assistance to Allen, coaches across the league often offer tactical advice to the talented leaper during meets.

“We know Michael,” Bridgewater track coach Shane Stevens said. “I think there’s a lot of camaraderie in the ODAC and we want to see people succeed. When you see someone like Michael Allen or a lot of competitors that we deal with, we’re always happy to help them with their marks and help them in a positive way.”

While Stevens said he’s willing to help, the competitor in him said he was relieved that Allen is a senior this year. Problem for BC is, Allen’s only a junior.

“It seems like he’s been around for a long time to us,” Stevens said, laughing, when corrected. “He’s a good guy.”

While he still has one year to go, Allen said he might postpone his senior season to 2013, because he plans on studying abroad in Mexico and Guatemala next year. Allen, who plays piano and bass, and sings in a local band called “The Remedy,” is majoring in musical performance as well as business.

For now, he’s got big things in mind for nationals next month.

“I don’t want to just, like, go. I want to crush,” Allen said. “I want to go there and place. Because I have the potential to.”

As for getting out of his own shadow, others don’t think that’s ever necessarily been an issue.

“I feel like everybody in the conference has been pretty well aware of what his potential is as a jumper,” BC jumps coach Denver Davis said. “Everybody knew coming into this season that he was going to be the guy to beat. I think everybody was just waiting on him to get back into his old form and start to jump the way he did. With the indoor season he had, he kind of got back to that. In outdoor, he put the nail in the coffin on it. He’s the top dog.”

Despite the small numbers on the teams, each the men and women came home with at least one first-place finish.

Sophomore thrower Kori Penick won the shot put at her first meet just days after joining the track team.

On the men’s side, freshman Nathaniel Freed (Quakertown, Pa./Christopher Dock) won the high jump. Both Freed and Roanoke’s Edward Curtis cleared the bar at 1.85m, but Freed claimed the gold based on jumps.

Michael Allen (Fork Union, Va./Louisa County) picked up where he left off his All-ODAC performances of the indoor season. The junior won the triple jump with a distance of 13.48m and took second in the long jump at 6.28m. Allen was also fifth in the 100m dash with a time of :11.49.

In the throws, Aaron Sloan (Ooltewah, Tn./McCallie School) took points in both of his events. He was fifth in the shot put at 10.39m and sixth in the discus at 28.83m.

The Royals finished with 39 team points, taking fourth out of the five teams at the meet.

For the women, newcomer Kori Penick (Lynchburg, Va./Virginia Episcopal) won the shot put just a few days after joining the 91����Ƶ team. Penick finished with a distance of 11.65m, giving her the gold and the best mark in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference so far in the outdoor season.

Nathaniel Freed won the high jump at the Maroon Invitational.

Sophomore Sophia Holmes (Berryville, Va./Clarke) took second in the 800m run, also clocking the top finish in the ODAC, with a time of 2:31.34.

Erica Garber (Canby, Or./Canby) had good finishes in all three of her events. She finished third in the triple jump at 10.41m, fourth in the 100m dash at :13.74, and fifth in the long jump at 4.79m.

Senior Brittany Burke (Stanley, Va./Page County) came in fourth in the discus with a toss of 28.57m. She was also sixth in the shot put at 10.65m.

The women grabbed 41 points as team, finishing just behind sixth-place Bridgewater at 52 points.

Both teams will be in Bridgewater this Saturday for the Jopson Invitational.

Although the top finishes were dominated by D-I athletes, there were more D-III schools at this meet than last weekend’s meet hosted by the University of Maryland, giving the Royals a better chance to gauge their competition.

91����Ƶ junior Michael Allen was the top D-III finisher in the long jump.

91����Ƶ senior Samfee Doe was fourth among D-III runners in the 500m dash.

Junior Michael Allen (Fork Union, Va./Louisa Co.) highlighted 91����Ƶ’s day. He was the top D-III finisher in the long jump with a distance of 6.47m, earning him 14th place. Allen also moved up to second place in the ODAC standings with the leap.

In the triple jump, Allen again took 14th overall and was in third among D-III athletes. His best distance of 12.96m moved him up to fourth in the ODAC ranks.

On the women’s side, Samfee Doe (Timonium, Md./Baltimore Lutheran) had the fourth best D-III time in the 500m dash, as she took 13th overall in 1:26.94.

Freshman Erica Garber (Canby, Or./Canby) moved into the ODAC’s sixth spot in the triple jump. Her best jump of 10.04m was 0.50m better than her jump the previous week.

Sophia Holmes (Berryville, Va./Clarke) tried her hand in the 1000m run and took 11th overall in 3:24.76. She was fifth among D-III runners.

The Royals now have a weekend off before heading to the Vince Brown Invitational in Newport News on Feb. 12.

Learn more about women’s indoor track and men’s indoor track at 91����Ƶ.

By Matthew Stoss, Daily News-Record

Michael Allen

Samfee Doe still remembers the first time she saw Michael Allen. It was in late summer, around the first week of classes at 91����Ƶ. He was standing on the brick stairs outside the campus center and singing a John Legend song in his bass voice.

Doe, a sophomore on the women’s track team, was instantly smitten – and, on Monday, she recalled what she thought at that moment.

“That’s my husband,” she said, jokingly. “He can sing. That’s my husband.”

Allen, a freshman, continued to impress when track season started, and Doe – as well as the Old Dominion Athletic Conference – both were wooed by more than just his vocal chords.

At last weekend’s ODAC championships, Allen qualified for the NCAA Division III meet in the triple jump with a distance of 48 feet, 8.75 inches, defeating his season-long nemesis: Lynchburg’s Brandon Edwards, who beat Allen in the event during the indoor season. On Saturday, Allen beat Edwards, a senior, by 3.25 inches, while the rest of the competition was at least 4 feet behind.

Allen also won the long jump (23-10), finished fourth in the 100-meter dash (11.17 seconds) and placed fifth in the 200 (22.62) en route to being named the ODAC’s Rookie of the Year and Athlete of the Meet.

Not that is was a surprise. It wasn’t just Allen’s voice – the only male one in 91����Ƶ’s choir – that dazzled Doe. It was his athleticism.

“He’s got muscles on his shins,” Doe said. “That’s not normal.”

It’s also to Allen’s advantage. The Louisa County High School graduate started track in a youth league when he was about 10 years old. It didn’t take long for him to notice he was jumping farther and running faster than the other kids. That convinced Allen, now 19, to stick with it.

Now, track – like singing – has become an obsession.

During outdoor track season, Allen had a class (choir) that conflicted with practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Instead of totally missing practice, Allen came late and spent 1? to 2 hours working out alone, often pushing through the final gasps of sunlight.

“I’ve got to get better,” Allen said. “No excuses – even if the sun is going down.”

Down like 91����Ƶ records. Allen broke his own triple jump mark of 46-5.87 over the weekend.

“I can’t stand not being able to re-break a mark,” said Allen. “I want my marks to get further every meet. That’s why I come to practice late [in the day].”

And it’s not like there was a coach holding his hand, forcing him to work out. Interim coach Pete Nelson – who will be replaced by Matt Dougherty next season – said Allen did the extra work on his own volition, even though it isn’t compulsory that an athlete make up a practice missed for academic reasons.

“His kind of attitude in life – he’s always so positive, and it rubs off on people,” said Nelson, a former distance runner at 91����Ƶ, where he graduated last spring. “It gets people excited for meets; it gets me excited for meets. … I feel like I’m buttering him up for the newspaper, but that’s really how I feel about him.”

Before college track, Allen applied that same drive to music. At age 14, he began to teach himself bass by ear. He said he picked it up one day, thumbed a few strings and it sounded good enough to keep going. He also taught himself to play the piano by ear – an extraordinarily difficult thing to do. Now, he is in the process of learning to read sheet music.

Allen – who plans to double major in interdisciplinary music and business in hopes of one day opening a music shop – said his next musical goal is learning to play chords on his four-string Rogue bass guitar (even though he fantasizes about owning an elegant $1,000-plus Tobias with a wood-grain finish) as opposed to just plucking notes. Really, he just wants to emulate his bass idol: Victor Wooten, a founding member of B?la Fleck and the Flecktones, known for his slapping style of play.

“Now, I learn something new every time I play,” Allen said.

But if Wooten’s slaps prove too elusive, at least Allen has his voice – and, of course, he can jump almost 50 feet.

“He’s not a human being,” Doe said, “he’s a beast.”

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