Experienced Youth To Lead Men’s Track & Field At OAC Championships

The Heidelberg College men’s track and field team will be participating in its 39th Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Championships on March 2-3, 2007. The championships are hosted by Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.

Third-year head coach Kevin Lucas and the Berg will be searching for the program’s first OAC Indoor Championship and will look to improve on its fourth place finish in 2006. Heidelberg stood second during the 1999 season and third on three other occasions for the highest finish in ’Berg history.

Lucas will look to a talented group of youngsters and the senior duo of Dan Simpson (Leetonia, Ohio / Leetonia) and Jeremy Wysocki (Toledo, Ohio / Central Catholic) to bring a championship back to Tiffin. Entering the championships, Heidelberg has seven underclassman that rank in the top-10 on 17 different occasions, while junior Greg Tyson, Jr. (Lima, Ohio / Senior) is a junior, but could be considered youthful due to the fact that he will only be participating in his third indoor meet of the year this weekend. Tyson, Jr. recently joined the team due to his play with the Heidelberg men’s basketball program. Tyson, Jr. enters the weekend ranked in the top-10 in three events.

Leading the way at the championships will be sophomore Cory Beebe (Medina, Ohio / Cloverleaf). Beebe leads the pack in the 300 and 400-meter dashes. He is coming off three all-conference honors in his freshman campaign. Tyson, Jr. is the defending OAC long jump and triple jump champion, as well is the reigning Bud Yoest Most Outstanding Field Athlete and Division III Long Jump National Champion. Tyson, Jr. will also take to the track in the 300-meter dash as well.

Backing Beebe and Tyson, Jr. will be freshman Julius Higginbotham (Elyria, Ohio /Elyria). Higginbotham is the current OAC Runner of the Week and will look to earn all-conference honors in the 55-meter dash, high jump and long jump.

Adding more depth in the sprints and middle distance events will be newcomers Mark Childs (New Albany, Ohio / New Albany) and Justin Shields (Lorain, Ohio / Amherst L. Steele) as well as brothers Brandon and Justin Zuchowski (Brunswick, Ohio / Brunswick). Childs enters the weekend ranked No. 2 in the 500-meter run, while Shields stands sixth in the 300 and 400-meter dashes. Brandon Zuchowski will run in the 500-meter run, while Justin Zuchowski will take his talents to the track in the 400-meter dash.

Heidelberg’s national qualifying cross country team has continued its distance dominance on the indoor track. All-American Scott Lasch (Huron, Ohio / Huron) will be a strong force in the mile run, which he stands fourth in the rankings, while Simpson, Wysocki and freshman Devin Butcher (Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green) will patrol the track in the 5,000 meter run. Simpson currently boasts the fastest time on the season, while Wysocki is not far behind in third.

Finally, Heidelberg will look to gain valuable points from its 4x400-meter relay team of Beebe, Childs, Shields and Justin Zuchowski and its 4x200-meter relay team consisting of Beebe, Higginbotham, Shields and Justin Zuchowski.