Berea, Ohio – May 27, 2010 – What’s better than playing your last collegiate event close to home? Answer: Earning your second All-American honors. Senior long jumper Julius Higginbotham (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) earned a spot on the Division III All-American Outdoor Track and Field Championship team. The event is hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College.
Higginbotham’s first jump in the preliminaries earned him a spot in the finals. He leaped 23’4.5. In the finals, he jumped 23’00” which earned him a sixth place finish. This marked Higginbotham’s best long jump performance in Outdoor Nationals.
This is Higginbotham’s second All-American honors in his career. He took third in indoor long jump in March.
“It’s exciting,” said Higginbotham. “To get All-American in anything is an honor and a blessing. It shows that hard work pays off. It was a great feeling to stand on the podium.”
This event is especially special to Higginbotham because it is the last event of his collegiate career. “I’m thankful for all the support over the years,” says Higginbotham. “The media has been great and I appreciate everything that Heidelberg University has done for me. I will take these moments with me for the rest of my life.”
Higginbotham was also part of the 4x100 meter relay that came up two spots short of making the finals. Higginbotham, senior Paris Hilliard (Lorain, Ohio, Admiral King), and freshmen Justin Burnett (Springfield, Ohio / Northwestern) and Gibril Kamara (Westerville, Ohio / Central) finished 10th place with a time of 41.61.
“I happily pass the torch to the underclassmen,” said Higginbotham. “This gives them a taste of the Nationals and hopefully will get them hungry for next season.”
Also earning All-American honors for the Berg under guidance of second-year head coach Keith Roberts Jr. was freshman Marian Bevington (Celina, Ohio / Parkway). Bevington took eighth in long jump with a leap of 18’04.”
“We competed hard,” said Roberts. “A lot of coaches never get chance to coach All-Americans and I’m excited to have two today.”
The Berg has one participant left to compete. Freshman Nate Davis (Dayton, Ohio / Stivers School for the Arts) will compete in the high jump on Saturday starting at 2:30 p.m.