Tiffin, Ohio - April 29, 2010 – Looking to continue to make strides on the outdoor season this weekend at the 2010 Ohio Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships with be the Heidelberg University women’s track and field team, and second-year head coach Keith Roberts Jr. Mount Union College will host the championships Friday, April 30 and Saturday, May 1 at Mount Union Stadium in Alliance, Ohio.
Friday’s competition will start at noon and Saturday’s begins at 10 am. All 10 OAC schools will compete for the league title. Tickets are available on site for $8 for a two-day pass, $5 for a day pass and OAC students are admitted free with a valid ID.
Since 1995 Heidelberg has recorded five top-five finishes at the championships, but that OAC Title has eluded the Berg. In 1989 Heidelberg took home runner-up honors to mark its best finish.
In 2010 Heidelberg has a strong sprinting contingent that will look to secure some points. Leading the way is five-time All-OAC honoree senior Jamie Depinet (New Riegel, Ohio / New Riegel). Depinet will look for her second all-conference performance in the 400-meter dash, an event which she claimed the top spot in 2007.
Also returning with multiple All-OAC accolades is sophomore Jazmine Shaw (Columbus, Ohio / Hamilton Township). She will join Depinet in the 400-meter dash.
Looking to make a name for herself in the 100 and 200-meter dashes this season will be junior Alexis Goodman (Tiffin, Ohio / Columbian). Goodman knows what it takes to be an all-league sprinter, as she helped to guide the 4x100-meter relay team to a top-three finish a season ago.
In the hurdles events, freshman Marian Bevington (Celina, Ohio / Parkway) leads the list of Heidelberg qualifiers. Bevington is ranked second amongst the qualifiers in the 100-meter hurdles and is coming off a race that she just missed breaking the school record. She has been on the verge of breaking onto the NCAA Division III Championships provisional qualifying list in the event.
Backing Bevington in the 100-meter hurdles will by sophomore Shanice McLellan (Lima, Ohio / Lima Senior). As a freshman, McLellan garnered All-OAC honors in the event, as well as a member of the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays.
Representing the Berg in the 400-meter hurdles will be sophomore Kristin Burns (Milford Center, Ohio / Fairbanks).
Bevington has doubled up her success on the track with a strong year in the field events. She has flirted with the securing a spot on the NCAA provisional list in both the high jump and long jump the entire Spring. Within the OAC she stands first in the high jump and is fourth in the long jump.
Looking to secure some points in the throwing events will be sophomore Aaliyah VanLeer (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights) and freshmen Brittany Tatum (Cleveland, Ohio / Trinity) and Jennifer Behnken (Oak Harbor, Ohio / Oak Harbor). Vanleer stands fourth in the shot put and is followed by Tatum. Behnken and Tatum will both try their hand at the hammer throw.
Taking to the track from Heidelberg’s distance core will be freshman Bobbi Custer (Woodstock, Ohio / Triad) and junior Michelle Fitch (Kinsman, Ohio / Badger). Custer will be running in the 1,500-meter run, while Fitch is in the 10,000-meter run.
Aside from scoring in the individual events, Heidelberg will look to finish in the top half in three relay events.