Alliance, Ohio – May 1, 2010 – If you believe, anything can happen. That is the mindset of the Heidelberg University men’s track and field team and it produced the 2010 Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship trophy. Mount Union College hosted the 2010 championships at Mount Union Stadium in Alliance, Ohio April 30 and May 1.
Heidelberg had 18 All-OAC performers and three all-league relays, including four individual champions and two relay championships en route to the program’s third overall title and first since 2000. The Berg also won in 1999.
Second-year head coach Keith Roberts Jr., along with his staff of Tessa Sibley, Ray Armstong Jr., Jason Headman and Tiffany Kovacevich, were voted the Coaching Staff of the Year for their combined efforts at guiding the Berg back to the top of the OAC.
Heidelberg placed in 17 of the 20 events and secured multiple placers on eight occasions.
In the end the Berg topped the field with 173 points followed by Mount Union with 136.5 points and Ohio Northern University with 116. Baldwin-Wallace College (93) and Otterbein College (66.5) rounded out the top-five.
Leading things off on Saturday was Joshua Lynch (Dayton, Ohio / Meadowdale) and Julius Higginbotham (Elyria, Ohio Elyria) with all-league performances in the triple jump. Lynch took home runner-up honors with a jump of 46’6.75” followed by Higginbotham in third with a leap of 45’6.25”.
Moving along in the field events today, the Berg had two all-league honorees in the high jump. Nate Davis (Dayton, Ohio / Stivers) took home the top spot with a NCAA provisional qualifying jump and personal best mark of 6’10.25” Davis’ mark also topped his own school record of 6’9.5”. Finishing in second was Lynch with a provisional qualifying and personal best jump of 6’7.5”
Leading the way on the track was Heidelberg’s 3,000-meter steeplechase crew that swept the top-three spots and subsequent All-OAC honors. Taking home the top spots were Jamie Kuess (Coldwater, Ohio / Coldwater) (9:33.87), Jordan Karnes (Edgerton, Ohio / Edgerton) (9:25.66) and Jacob Lemon (Oak Harbor, Ohio / Oak Harbor) (9:33.27).
Winning another title for the Berg was Higginbotham in the 100-meter dash. He crossed the finish line in 10.98.
Rounding out the champions for the Berg was the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams. Teaming up for a time of 41.95 in the 4x100-meter relay was Higginbotham, Paris Hilliard (Lorain, Ohio / Admiral King), Justin Burnett (Springfield, Ohio / Northwestern) and Gibril Kamara (Westerville, Ohio / Central).
The all-league 4x400-meter relay team consisted of Josh Bowmar (Marengo, Ohio / Highland), Mark Childs (New Albany, Ohio / New Albany), Joe Yoder (West Liberty, Ohio / West Liberty Salem) and Terrence Horton (Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington). They finished in 3:17.53.
Securing a runner-up finish in the 800-meter run was Childs. Childs returned to his all-league performance from a season ago, crossing the finish line in 1:55.6.
In the 400-meter dash Horton was an all-league runner, finishing in third (49.23), while Devin Butcher (Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green) was third in the 5,000-meter run (15:16.98) to take home all-conference honors.
On Friday, the Berg compiled 42 points to hold a one-point advantage over the competition.
In the long jump, Higginbotham’s leap of 23’1.75” topped the field, was an automatic qualifying leap and earned him all-league honors for the fourth straight season. Backing Higginbotham was Davis who took home third place, and subsequent All-OAC honors, with a jump of 22’9.25”.
Also securing all-league honors in the field events was Bowmar with a third place finish in the javelin throw. His mark of 184’11”also set a new school record, topping the previous record of 183'9" set by David Mayer in 1988.
On the track, finals were raced in the 10,000-meter run and the 4x800-meter relay. Leading the way was Butcher in the 10,000-meter run. Butcher finished runner-up in a time of 32:47.64. It was his third straight all-conference honor in the event, and his highest finish at the championships.
The group of Jamie Martin (Wooster, Ohio / Triway), Horton, Shondell Thomas (Westerville, Ohio / Central) and Childs teamed up to take home runner-up honors in the 4x800-meter relay. They finished in an All-OAC honor time of 7:43.95.