MARIETTA - Devin Butcher became the third Heidelberg runner to win the Ohio Athletic Conference's Cross Country Championship, finishing in a Broughtom Nature Preserve course-record time of 25:57.
Butcher's time was 21 seconds better than Ohio Northern's Jimmy O'Brien, last year's winner.
Nathan Gibson (2002) and Aaron Hay (2000, 2001) were the other Heidelberg runners to win the league meet.
Butcher's performance led the 'Berg men to a third-place finish (54 points), behind Ohio Northern (39) and Mount Union (48).
Butcher was joined on the OAC first team by teammates Scott Lasch (26:38) and Jamie Martin (26:40) who finished eighth, and ninth, respectively.
Heidelberg's Jarrod Saling made the league second team with a 17th-place finish (27:07).
Tabitha Grim's 38th (25:16) led the Heidelberg women, who placed ninth with 238 points. Ninette Ruch was 44th in 25:52
Ohio Northern upended Baldwin-Wallace, 57-64, for the title.
'Berg volleyball sets program record for season victories
GRAND RAPIDS - With its 3-1 showing at the Midwest Challenge, the Heidelberg volleyball team improved to 28-6, topped the school record for wins and improved its resume for a possible at-large national tournament berth.
The 1986 team racked up 27 wins, a figure matched by last year's squad.
The Student Princes opened Friday by sweeping Manchester (25-22, 25-15, 25-14), then earned a 3-2 win over No. 20 Hope (23-25, 25-16, 25-20, 14-25, 15-10). A Saturday sweep of Hanover (25-22, 25-19, 25-12) preceded a four-set loss to No. 14 Calvin (22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-18).
The event was hosted by Calvin and Hope.
Emily Hurlburt tallied 12 kills and seven blocks against Manchester, while Haase had eight kills, Old Fort's Morgan Magers 34 assists and Brittany Donelan 18 digs.
Audra Vucic slammed 16 kills against Hope, while New Riegel's Jackie Reinhart and Hurlburt smacked 14 apiece. Magers tallied 46 assists and 20 digs, while Donelan had 28 digs.
Haase's 10 kills led the way against Hanover, and Hurlburt had eight. Magers set up 19 kills, and Donelan had nine digs and three aces.
Hurlburt had 16 kills, Reinhart 13 and Haase 10 against Calvin. Magers dished out 48 assists, with Donelan getting 16 digs.
Heidelberg plays in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference at home Tuesday against Baldwin-Wallace. The Student Princes went 8-1 in conference play to earn the No. 2 seed.
Women's soccer ends on high note
Katelyn McBeath booted a penalty kick into the right corner in the second overtime, and the Heidelberg women's soccer finished its season with a 1-0 win at home over Mount Union. The Student Princes conclude at 4-14-1, with a 1-7-1 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
McBeath's goal came after 104 minutes of scoreless play. Lauren Sweeney made eight saves for Heidelberg, including one in the final seconds of the first overtime. Heidelberg got 22 shots from eight players.
Mount Union fell to 4-14-1 (1-8 OAC).
'Berg men boot Mount Union
ALLIANCE - Heidelberg nipped Mount Union 3-2 Saturday, closing out the regular season 7-10-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
The victory assured the Student Princes of their second top-tier finish in the OAC in as many seasons, and the third in the last four years.
Mount Union (6-12-1, 1-8) took a 1-0 lead on T.J. Welch's goal in the 53rd minute, but Heidelberg's Cory Buhrman tied the game 10 minutes later.
Brian Juart converted a free kick into a 2-1 lead one minute later for Heidelberg, then went up 3-1 in the 71st minute when Craig Watkinson scored on a penalty kick.
Brian Benson had six saves for the Student Princes.
TU volleyball drops below .500
DETROIT - Tiffin's volleyball team fell back below .500 mark Friday with a 25-15, 25-19, 25-15 loss at Wayne State.
Katie Luker lined seven kills and Brittany Teaford four blocks for the Dragons, who fell to 14-15 overall and 2-12 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Brooke Bernabie had 11 digs.
Wayne State improved to 13-11 (6-7 GLIAC).
