The Generals wrestling team won its first Old Dominion Athletic Conference team title this weekend, while the women’s and men’s swim teams reclaimed their conference champion titles for the second straight year.

Wrestling

The Generals finished the regular season tied with Roanoke College and Averett University as the first ODAC Wrestling Championship tri-champions since 1980, all with 5-1 records.
But, the team secured bragging rights with their domination on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Shenandoah University. The Generals wrestlers ended the ODAC tournament with 135.5 mat points. Averett fell behind them with 122 points.
The Generals had seven wrestlers representing them at the tournament. Among them, Ryan Luth (157), ’23, received the Most Outstanding Wrestler award with 18.5 team points from a technical fall, as well as a major decision win.
Luth and fellow seniors Riley Parker (125) and Matt Majoy (285) each claimed first in their weight classes. David Rubin (133), ’25, Evan Lindner (141), ’26, Mark Troni (174), ’26, and John Ryan Sedovy (197), ’24, were the ODAC runners-up in each of their weight classes.
Colin Bridges (149), ’26, and Harrison Kelly (165), ’24, won their third-place matches and Jak Krouse (184), ’24, finished fifth in his respective bout with a 10-2 major decision win.

Women’s Swimming

The 24th-ranked Generals women’s swim team won four of the six events last Saturday evening to clinch its second straight conference championship title. The Generals accumulated 930 points over the four-day meet to win their 15th championship in the last 16 seasons.
Brynn Martinson, ’24, received the ODAC Women’s Swimmer of the Meet award for the second consecutive season, and Head Coach Kami Gardener earned her ninth ODAC Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year award.

“I am happy with my results this weekend, but most importantly, I feel so lucky to be part of such an incredible team that works so hard, supports each other, and pushes each other to be the best we can,” Martinson said. “I think that really showed up in our results that weekend.”

Sara Gaston, ’23, Jillian Cantrell, ’23, and Martinson each won an individual race on the final day, with Martinson also partaking in the 400 free relay win (3:30.98). Gaston topped the field in the 200 back (2:03.59), Cantrell won the 200 fly (2:07.10) and Martinson’s win came in the 100 free in a National Collegiate Athletic Association B-cut time of 51.38.
Martinson swam the opening leg on the 400 free relay and was followed by Myla Rice, ’25, Tess Deyerle, ’24, and Sophia Rollo, ’24. Rice, Deyerle and Rollo each added top-five finishes to the tally. Rice claimed third in the 100 free (52.75), Deyerle took fourth in the 200 back (2:07.78) and Rollo was the runner-up in the 200 back (2:04.47).

Men’s Swimming

The Generals men’s swim team tallied 964 points at the ODAC Championship meet to reclaim the championship title. Lynchburg University trailed at 606 points in second place, followed by Roanoke College with 542 points.
Dalton Jobe, ’26, was recognized as the ODAC Men’s Swimming Rookie of the Meet as the second straight rookie to claim this award for W&L at the conference championship. This was following Matt Snyder, ’25, who received the award last season.
The Generals men’s swimmers had 15 top-five finishes on the final day of the meet. Luke Nagel, ’25, set a program-record time of 16:05.27 in taking third place in the 1650 free, a time also good for an NCAA B-cut mark.
Baxter Smelzer, ’25, led off for the winning 400 free relay (3:02.25), in addition to posting a win in the 100 free (45.18). Smelzer, along with Charles Byars, ’26, Jobe and Dawson Kramer, ’23, also notched an NCAA B-cut time in the 400 free relay.
Reese Nelson, ’25, took the top spot in the 200 fly (1:52.47).
The 100 free and 200 fly were the two races in which Washington and Lee had each of the first three finishers. Byars (45.64) and Jobe (45.91) followed Smelzer in the 100 free, while senior Colin Whiting (1:54.32) and first-year Thomas Denton (1:55.48) trailed Nelson in the 200 fly.
The Generals were also setting records leading up to the final meet day. Jobe set a program, conference and championship record with his time of 4:31.29 in the 500 free while Smelzer and Byars, along with Harrison Cerone, ’26, and Thomas Denton, ’26, did the same in the 400 medley relay.
Jobe also went on to break his own record and set a new program record in the 400 individual medley (3:57.03).
Todd Echols, ’23, set a new program record in the 100 breast during prelims with a time of 56.68. Echols, along with Smelzer, Byars and Matt Fritz, ’25, won a record-setting 200 medley relay. Fritz set a conference and championship record of his own in the 100 fly (49.49).
“It feels great to help the team win another ODAC Championship,” Echols said. “Everyone worked so hard this season to earn this win, and it makes me feel so proud to see how well everyone swam this weekend to achieve this win.”