Tigers picked 11th in conference preseason poll
Published 1:26 pm Thursday, August 29, 2019
Hampden-Sydney College (H-SC) has been picked 11th in the 2019 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Men’s Cross Country Preseason Coaches’ Poll, a H-SC athletic press release cited. The Tigers, who finished 10th at last year’s ODAC Cross Country Championships, garnered 29 points in the poll.
Officials in the release noted that Washington and Lee University was picked first with 119 points, ahead of the University of Lynchburg (113), Roanoke College (90), Bridgewater College (87) and Shenandoah University (82) among the top five. The Generals received nine first-place votes, while the Hornets gained the other three first-place votes.
Hampden-Sydney returns four lettermen, and the Tigers have added five newcomers to the team this season, the release stated. The returning runners include senior John Dyke, junior Sean Gustafson, along with sophomores Bennett Diggs and Thomas Gorman.
As the release continued, it highlighted that Dyke posted a season-best 8K of 31 minutes, 53.6 seconds at the ODAC Championships a year ago, while other top 8K times for the returners include Gustafson, with a 31:40.6 at the Hornet Harrier Invitational, Diggs, with a 31:55.3 at the ODAC Championships, and Gorman, with a 34:28.6 at the Hornet Harrier Invitational.
Officials noted in the release that joining the program this year are sophomore David Lowman and freshmen Adam Buell, Ryan Haynie, Taisho Miller and Justin Stimpson, the last of whom is from Farmville.
Hampden-Sydney is coached by second-year Head Coach Matt Griswold, the release cited. The Tigers will open the 2019 campaign with their participation in the 5K Eagle Cross Country Challenge at Bridgewater College on Friday, Aug. 30, at 5:30 p.m. in Bridgewater.
September will include four meets for Hampden-Sydney, taking the Tigers to Harrisonburg, Roanoke and Charlotte, North Carolina, before they host the Family Weekend 5K on Sept. 28 at 8 a.m.