Emory & Henry Elevates Track & Field To Varsity Status For 2018 Season

track shoe, shot put, track block and medallion

EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Department of Athletics is pleased to announce that it will sponsor Men’s & Women’s Track & Field as varsity sports for the 2018 season. Originally scheduled to begin with the 2019 season, an increased interest in track & field among current students has made it logical to accelerate the return of the sport to this spring.

“We are super excited to move our track & field program to varsity status,” commented Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Ian Layne. “With 35 athletes between the men’s and women’s teams, the decision to speed up the return of the program at this time makes sense.”

Joining Layne on the coaching staff is Matt Roden, who will work primarily with throws and program operations, and Kamden BeCraft, who will coach hurdlers and sprinters in addition to his work as an assistant football coach.

“We couldn’t be more excited to move forward with our track & field program,” said Interim Director of Athletics Anne Crutchfield. “Our region has a long history of strong high school track & field, and we feel like this is a natural fit to enhance our current athletics offerings and to attract a new pool of student-athletes to Emory & Henry.”

Emory & Henry will compete in three meets this spring, beginning with the Lynchburg Dr. Jack M. Toms Alumni Invitational, hosted by Lynchburg College on the weekend of Friday, March 23 and Saturday, March 24.

Next up for the Wasps will be the Berry Field Day Invitational at Mount Berry, Georgia on Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7. E&H will conclude its Renaissance season on Saturday, April 14 at Elon University’s Phoenix Invitational.

For the 2018 campaign, the Wasps will compete as a NCAA Division III Independent and will join the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in 2019 as originally planned.

Emory & Henry first competed in men's track & field in 1977 as a charter member of the ODAC. The Wasps' last season on the track was in 1994, and over the course of those 18 years, the program won 28 individual ODAC Championships, a pair of ODAC Athletes of the Year and two ODAC runner-up finishes. E&H embarks on a new journey with the addition of women's outdoor track & field and will become the 10th ODAC school to sponsor the sport.

With these additions, E&H increases its varsity sport offering to 22 with nine NCAA men's sports (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track & field), nine NCAA women's sports (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball), the Intermont Equestrian IDA & IHSA teams and competitive cheerleading & dance squads.

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