Men Finish Second; Women Seventh at OAC Relays

The Heidelberg University men’s and women’s track and field programs excelled at the 2009 OAC Relays hosted by Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.
 
The men’s team narrowly missed the team championship, finishing with 96 points which was second behind Ohio Northern University’s 104.
 
On the women’s side, Heidelberg finished with 63.50 points to stand seventh. Ohio Northern won with 114.5 points.
 
On the track, Julius Higginbotham (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) not only led the 55-meter dash field, but he ran a school record and a NCAA Championship provisional qualifying time of 6.46. He topped the previous school record of 6.48 set by Steven Malone in 2004. Higginbotham’s time currently stands tied for seventh in the nation.
 
Taking home second place was the men’s 4x200-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay teams. Higginbotham, Josh Bowmar (Marengo, Ohio / Highland), Wes Hendricks (Beavercreek, Ohio / Beavercreek) and Frank Krill (Edgerton, Ohio / Edgerton) teamed up and ran a 1:32.77 in the 4x200, while Terrence Horton (Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington), Bowmar, Hendricks and Mark Childs (New Albany, Ohio /Albany) took to the track for the 4x400 and crossed the finish line in 3:27.20.
 
Devin Butcher (Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green) led the Berg distance runners, finishing third with a time of 15:25.89 in the 5,000-meter run relay.
 
Finishing in fourth was the 1600 sprint medley team of Krill, Bowmar, Seth Robertson (Burton, Ohio / Newbury) and Childs. The group finished the medley in 3:50.01.
 
Rounding out the top placers on the track for the men was Joe Yoder (West Liberty, Ohio / West Liberty Salem) in the 55-meter hurdles. Yoder was fifth in 8.26.
 
In the field, Higginbotham leaped 23’1.25” in the long jump to stand first. His leap was a provisional qualifying mark. Bowmar backed Higginbotham in fifth (20’9.75”). Taking home second in the triple jump was Higginbotham (44’3.50”), while Yoder tied for second in the high jump (6’4”).
 
On the women’s side, Judy Bataille (Felicity, Ohio / Felicity-Franklin) led the track runners. Bataille outdistanced the field in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.12. Her time automatically qualifies her to defend her National Championship and puts her time first in the nation.
 
Also racing to a first was the 4x200-meter relay team of Angela Zellner (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg), Tomika Brown (Bellefontaine, Ohio / Bellefontaine), Shanice  McLellan (Lima, Ohio / Lima Senior) and Bataille. The quartet set a new meet record of 1:45.87, topping the 2008 ’Berg relay team.
 
Brown and McLellan finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdle relay. Brown crossed the finish line in 8.90 followed by McLellan in 9.01.
 
Teaming up to stand fourth in the 1600 sprint medley was Bataille, Brown, Zellner and Lilly Hansberger (Norwalk, Ohio / Western Reserve). They raced to a time of 4:39.34.
 
Also racing to a top-finish on the track was the group of McLellan, Bataille, Hansberger and Zellner in the 4x400-meter relay. Their time of 4:19.39 was good enough for fifth place.
 
In the field events, Brown cleared 5’2” in the high jump to tie for first place, while Aaliyah VanLeer (Cleveland Heights, Ohio / Cleveland Heights) was fourth in the shot put with a throw of 38’6.75”.