HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Bridgewater College men's track and field team sits second after the first day of action at the 2026 ODAC outdoor track and field championships.
Bridgewater started their afternoon with participants in the hammer throw and the high jump. Jesus Flores led a flock of Eagles in the hammer throw to earn BC a hefty number of points. Flores claimed silver after recording a top throw of 51.65 meters. Heading into the final round of throws, Flores sat in the lead but was bested by a personal best from EMU's Koran Rucker. Joe Flynn placed fourth with a personal best 47.63-meter throw. Antonio Harris placed fifth, recording a personal best with a 47.35-meter throw. Bryce Hoffman placed seventh with a personal best throw of 41.89 meters. McKinley Goodbar was the final scoring Eagle, placing eighth with a top mark of 40.74 meters. The combined efforts of the five BC scoring competitors earned Bridgewater 20 points.
Simultaneously, Trey Birchett entered the national conversation with a career-best performance in the high jump. En route to earning a bronze medal, Birchett shattered his previous outdoor career-best of two meters. The senior jumper cleared the 1.97-meter threshold on his first try to solidify his spot on the podium, then cleared the 2.02-meter threshold with ease to set a new personal best. Birchett raised the bar by clearing 2.05 meters on his final attempt. Birchett was unable to clear the 2.08-meter threshold, but his best mark placed him 12th in division III this season.
Flores avenged his second-place finish in the hammer throw by procuring a gold medal in shot put. Flores launched the weighted ball 15.98 meters to earn ten points for Bridgewater. Luke Williams and Goodbar placed fifth and sixth, respectively, earning seven more points for Bridgewater to walk away with 17 points.
Jayden Brown and Joe Amlacher both qualified for the finals in the 110-meter hurdles. Amlacher ran in the first heat, placing third from the first lane with a time of 15.31. Brown also placed third in his head, crossing the line in 15.52 seconds.
Brown also qualified for the finals in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Brown crossed the line in 55.16 seconds to set a new personal best.
Gabe Wylie and Walker Knicely both qualified for the finals in the men's 400-meter run. Wylie recorded the fifth-best time in the prelims in the first heat. Wylie's 49.39 run not only qualified him for the finals tomorrow but also set a new personal best. Knicely ran 50 seconds even to claim the final spot in the finals.
Jayden Davenport cruised to wins in both of his preliminary heats. In the 100-meter dash, Davenport ran in the third heat, clocking 10.65. Davenport's time placed him inside the top 50 best marks in the nation this season. Davenport recorded another personal best in the 200-meter dash to qualify for the finals. In the final heat, Davenport blazed the track with a 21.80 sprint, the second-best time in the field.
Bridgewater currently sits second with 43 points, trailing only Lynchburg, who accumulated 86 points. BC continues action tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. with the javelin throw.
