Coaching Staff
Keith Roberts Jr.
Interim Head Coach
(419) 448-2011
krobert3@heidelberg.edu
On July 21 Director of Athletics Matt Palm announced the appointment of Keith Roberts Jr. as interim head cross country and track and field coach of both the men’s and women’s programs at Heidelberg College. Roberts will begin his second season at the Berg, having served as an assistant coach last season.
“We are confident that Keith will continue to build on the success of our cross country and track and field programs at Heidelberg,” stated Palm. “He played an integral part in the overall success of the program a year ago, and has the determination to continue to keep Heidelberg among the leaders in the OAC as well as the nation.”
Roberts looks forward to the opportunity to continue to build on the winning tradition at Heidelberg. “I would like to thank Matt Palm and the entire athletic administration for allowing me the opportunity to coach a program that has such a high commitment to excellence both in competition and in the classroom. Coach Lucas built a strong program and I plan to continue to take Heidelberg to the next level.”
A season ago, Roberts worked primarily with the sprinters and hurdlers on both the men’s and women’s teams. Between the indoor and outdoor track, Roberts helped to bring home 12 individual Ohio Athletic Conference honors, as well as seven relay All-OAC accolades. Sprinter Judy Bataille won the indoor 55-meter National Championship and All-American honors, while the men’s indoor 4x400-meter relay team just missed All-American honors at the national championships.
Prior to arriving at Heidelberg, Roberts was head coach for the Logan County Elite Track Club in Bellefontaine, Ohio. He also was an assistant coach for Bellefontaine High School and the Summit Academy in Herman, Pa. for the 2006 season and from 2005-2006 assisted at the University of Pittsburgh.
Roberts attended Kent State University and was a member of the track and field team. He won the Mid-American Conference Championship in the indoor 60-meter hurdles, and currently holds the indoor 55-meter hurdles record. Roberts also placed 11th in the nation in Division I in the indoor 60-meter hurdles in 2003, and was named a Freshman Verizon All-American in the outdoor 110-meter hurdles.
A native of Bellefontaine, Ohio, Roberts attended Bellefontaine High School, and graduated in the fall of 2005 from Kent with a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal communication, and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in education.
Roberts has stressed that building on a winning tradition takes a lot of hard work and dedication, all of which he is ready to do. “We have a good core of returners from the cross country teams to the track and field athletes. As a coach I stress the importance that all distance runners, sprinters, throwers and hurdlers all merge together to form one cohesive team that will welcome a strong recruiting class to strive for a conference championship this season. “
Kelly Graher
In her second year on the coaching staff for both cross country and track and field is Kelly Graher. Graher works mainly with Heidelberg’s distance runners.
Before coming to Heidelberg, Graher was head varsity track and field coach for both boys and girls at Russia Local Schools and worked as a Re-Generation Coordinator for the Council on Rural Service Programs.
She graduated from Defiance College in 2004, where she lettered in cross country, track and field, and basketball. As a member of the Jackets track team, Graher helped the team win Heartland Conference Championships in 2002 and 2003.
Graher is a native of Covington, Ohio and a 2000 graduate of Covington High School. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Defiance, and completed some master’s coursework there before coming to the Berg to complete her graduate degree in counseling.
Greg Zumberger
gzumberg@heidelberg.edu
Greg Zumberger joins the Heidelberg coaching staff for his first season as an assistant coach for the cross country and track and field teams in 2008. Prior to coming to Heidelberg, Zumberger served as the distance coach for track and an assistant cross country coach at Fort Loramie High School from 2005-08 and worked for Emerson Climate Technologies as a manufacturing supervisor.
While at Fort Loramie, Zumberger guided the boys cross team to state appearances in 2005 and 2006 and the girls team to state in 2005 and 2007. During his short stint at Fort Loramie, he coached two girls to All-Ohio finishes in cross country in 2007 as well as multiple regional and state qualifiers in track.
Zumberger is no stranger to Heidelberg College, as he was a member of Heidelberg College’s track and cross country teams from 2001-2005. While at Heidelberg, Zumberger earned many accolades on the track as well as in the classroom. He was a three time All-OAC performer in track in the 10k and steeplechases events, earning a spot at the NCAA Division III Championships in the steeplechase in 2005. On the cross country course he was a two time All-OAC and All Great Lakes Region, four-time Academic All-OAC and a two time Academic All-American in cross country.
Zumberger is a native of Fort Loramie, Ohio and attended Fort Loramie High School. He graduated from Heidelberg in 2005 with degrees in business administration and computer information systems and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in school counseling.
Jim Hoover
Assistant Coach
In his first season with the Heidelberg cross country and track and field programs is Jim Hoover. Hoover is a highly experienced and successful high school track and cross country coach at Brush High School in northeastern Ohio.
Hoover taught and coached in the South Euclid-Lyndhurst City School System for 32 years. He has 15 years of coaching experience with high school track at Brush High School, including eight as the head girls coach. Hoover’s girls track teams set school records in 13 events and one individual and two relay teams earned All-Ohio honors at the Division I state meet.
Hoover has 15 years of coaching on his resume with cross country at Brush, with 12 years serving as the head boys coach. In each of his 12 years as head coach Hoover guided representatives from Brush to the Boardman Division I Regional. He had four individual state qualifiers and one All-Ohio honoree during his tenure. Brush won the Western Reserve North Division Conference title in 2003, with Hoover receiving coach of the year honors.
Hoover graduated from Heidelberg College with a bachelor’s in education. He also earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Cleveland State University. Hoover currently lives in Painesville, Ohio with his wife Denise who is also a Berg graduate. They have two grown children, Timothy and Rachael.