Bataille Picks Up Second OAC Track Athlete of the Week Honor
Sophomore Judy Bataille (Felicity, Ohio / Felicity-Franklin) of the Heidelberg College women’s track and field team has been named the Ohio Athletic Conference Women’s Track Athlete of the Week for the week of February 4, 2008. It is the second athlete of the week honor for Bataille in just her first season at the Berg. Bataille joins Cory Beebe (Medina, Ohio / Cloverleaf) of the men’s team as track athlete of the week award recipients for the first week of February.
Over the weekend, Bataille helped guide Heidelberg to a fifth place finish at the OAC Relays hosted by Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. The sophomore sprinter helped claim the 55-meter dash relay championships, as well as the 4x200-meter relay title, while placing second in the 1600-meter sprint medley.
Bataille clocked a 7.17 in the 55-meter dash to top her own school record of 7.25 which she set at the Oiler Open in December. She joined forces with Colleen Nitchman (Wakeman, Ohio / Western Reserve) and Alexis Goodman (Tiffin, Ohio / Columbian) in the 55-meter dash relay. Her time also provisionally-qualified her for the 2008 NCAA Championships which will be held March 14-15 in a familier venue to Bataille, Ohio Northern.
Aside from winning the 4x200-meter relay, Bataille, Nitchman, Catie Evers (Burkettsville, Ohio / St. Henry) and Angela Zellner (Twinsburg, Ohio / Twinsburg) teamed up to also set a new school record of 1:46.87. The quartet of Bataille, Evers, Zellner and Jamie Depinet (New Riegel, Ohio / New Riegel) ran to a second place in the 1600-meter sprint medley, but set a new school record of 4:25.72 in the process.
In just five outings on the year, Bataille has provisionally-qualified for the NCAA Championships on three different occasions, while setting a new mark in the 55-meter dash three times as well, along with a new Heidelberg record in the 200-meter dash. Aside from her individual records, Bataille’s name is now inked in the record book with two relays as well.