Cross country at nationals

Head coach Kevin Lucas and the Heidelberg College men’s cross country team have raised its level of expectations over the course of the last four years. And with Lucas’ guidance Heidelberg has been a mainstay within the national rankings, as well as a participant in the NCAA Division III National Championships. After three straight appearances at nationals from 1997-99, Heidelberg faced a six-year hiatus, but the storied tradition of ’Berg cross country was elevated back to national prominence with an automatic bid to nationals in 2006 followed by its at-large bid this fall.

St. Olaf College of Northfield, Minn. was the host institution for the 2007 championships, with New York University claiming the team championship with 128 points followed by Haverford with 150 points. Rounding out the top-five was Cortland State (158), Calvin (214) and UW-LaCrosse (221). Heidelberg (555) stood 27th in the final standings.

Youth, with a senior mixed in, built Heidelberg’s championship team in Northfield. Those members of the team representing the Berg at the NCAA Championships was senior Dan Simpson, junior Jarrod Saling, sophomores Scott Lasch, Devin Butcher and Jake Lemon, as well as freshmen Deven Siesel and John Distler.

Leading the way for the Berg was Lasch and Simpson, clocking a 25:48 in the final results to hold the 69th and 70th place spots. Butcher followed, crossing the finish line in 26:15 (135th), while Saling (140th) and Lemon (141st) followed each other in at 26:17 and 26:18, respectively. Rounding out the field for Heidelberg was Siesel in a time of 27:24 and Distler in 27:42.

“Nationals bring out the most talented runners in the nation and this year was no exception,” stated Lucas. “We continually set high expectations for our program and the only way to accomplish our goals is to run among the top teams and learn from every race. We had a very talented, but a young group of runners representing Heidelberg at nationals this year. It was a great learning experience and it offers an opportunity for our runners to have something to build on for our trip back to the championships in 2008.”

Aside from its trip to the NCAA Championships this fall, Heidelberg also took home runner-up honors at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, as well as stood third at the All-Ohio Championships and finished in the top-five at the always tough Great Lakes Regional. Along the way in its tune-up for its top finishes the Berg claimed the Dragon/Berg Invitational and Defiance Invitational team titles.

 
Posted Nov. 17, 2007