Posts
There's a good chance that "Episode 10" might be the last piece of original content added to the site for nearly 3 weeks. The reason? I'll be making the move to Ohio tomorrow morning and while living back home in the boons will have extremely limited access to the interweb (which is probably a good thing for this guy...it's got to be unhealthy to be on a computer for the amount of time I have been recently).
I move into my new home on August 11th so by that time I should be able to re-start the interviewing process as well as preparing for other 2008 OAC cross country goodies.
Until then the other load of contributors and I will still be able to add content in the form of coaching updates, conference news and the like...just in terms of video there will be a little gap in the action. No big deal right?
In the meantime, I'll try to post odds and ends such as this--the steeple from the 2003 NCAA DIII Track & Field Championships, featuring site contributor and Baldwin-Wallace alum Tim Budic as well as Mount Union alum Bryan Less. The OAC had some great individual talent in the steeple that year as Heidelberg alum (and yet another OAC Distance contributor) Brendon Moody was, I believe, the last individual not to qualify to the national meet running a PR and Heidelberg SR (9:13).
During this "intermission period" before the start of the cross country season be sure to frequent the forum. I'll be back in action soon. We're going to have one awesome fall!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
(a) Blast from the Past/Brief Intermission
Eberts Tells All in This Milestone 10th OACDTS!
Don't call it a comeback, we've been here for nearly a month! Now that's staying-power.
We can't afford digital confetti, strobe lights or fancy alarms...but if we could, it'd be happening because this is the 10th OAC Distance Talk Show featuring B-W harrier James/Jim/Jimmy Eberts. We talk John Mayer, Jerry Seinfeld and so much more with this All-OAC steepler. We hope you like it.
Talk Show 9: JCU's Nick "the Quick" Habursky
"We're the smartest team in the OAC, bar none."
That's how John Carroll senior Nicholas Habursky answered the phone when I called him to do this interview. Seriously.
Nick discusses his past (being molded by former JCU harrier greats), present (training daily in the heat and studying for the LSAT) and future (being an elder statesman on a very young JCU team) in this, our 9th OAC Distance Cellular Talk Show.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Heidelberg Names Keith Roberts Head Coach
It's been quite a busy week for OAC AD's.
via Heidelberg.edu:
Director of Athletics Matt Palm has announced the appointment of Keith Roberts (far left) 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.
Roberts replaces Kevin Lucas, who resigned after four years at the helm to take the head track and field coaching position at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Md.
“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."
He's Got Next: Capital's Joel Eversole
If Joel Eversole continues to improve the way we think he will, soon he might just change the way you think about Capital distance running.
PS: I regret to inform the loyal visitors of this site that OACD Talk Show episodes 9 (JCU's Habursky) and 10 (B-W's Eberts) won't be up tonight. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I promise they'll grace the front page soon!
Until then...
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Gleason to Take the Reigns at Muskingum
Several reputable sources have expressed the fact that Jake Gleason will be William Cooper's successor at Muskingum College.
Gleason spent the past two years as the assistant horizontal jumps and throws coach at Ohio Northern University.
Prior to his time at ONU Gleason coached distance and jumps at Geneva College where he helped produce 12 national qualifiers.
Gleason received his bachelor’s degree from Westminster College in 2002 and his master’s degree from Geneva College in 2004.
More information on this position as it becomes available including the Muskingum athletic page's official announcement.
*Update (7/25):
It's official. Click here for full Muskingum.edu story.
1/3rd of Capital's Joel Eversole (Episode Ocho)
You wouldn't know it by looking at the site (no updates!) but the past two days have been fairly productive. Tonight I wrapped up the interview with Jim Eberts of B-W (pictured below to the left of Derek Hill). We discussed John Mayer, Jerry Seinfeld and his opinion on which duo is more important to their respective teams: Ford and Griffin of Mount Union, Stiles and Orr of Wilmington or Bowen and Hill of B-W. Would Jim dare pick against his own teammates? You'll have to check back Monday when the interview goes up. By then we'll also have posted John Carroll Senior Nick Habursky's interview as well as the final two thirds of Capital Junior Joel Eversole's interview.
Joel's basically a newbie in terms of distance running having played soccer in high school. Look out for him in the 800 the next two years. He's sure to make a big impact for the Crusader's this fall.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Eberts Questions / 3 'Talk Shows' by Monday
I apologize in advance for the drought in activity as of late, things have been hectic around here as I've been preparing my move from Georgia back to the beautiful buckeye state.
Tomorrow I'm scheduled (yes, there's a schedule now) to interview 2008 All-OAC steeplechaser, B-W Junior Jim Eberts. Though this probably gives you less than 24 hours notice before the interview, feel free to list questions for Jim/all things Baldwin-Wallace cross country in the form of comments to this post.
Also, be sure to check out OAC Distance contributor Justin Dickman's thoughts on the recent OAC coaching carousel via his blog Opinion of Penguin.
Again, sorry for the wait on the videos, but expect some great content in the very near future!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Introducing Otterbein's John Lintz
Listen to all four parts from this special edition OAC Distance Talk Show featuring Otterbein's newly appointed cross country coach, John Lintz. Coach Lintz covers so much in this near half-hour conversation (parts one through four). Be sure not to miss it!
We've decided to split the interview into four parts after some suggestions from our loyal viewers (thank you!) and will most likely stick with this format in the future with interviews that span much longer than the 10-minute range. None of the four parts of this interview are longer than 9 minutes (two are in the 6-minute range), so there's no need to pause and come back. Watch part one...go for a run. Watch part two...eat a bowl of your favorite cereal. Here at OAC Distance we're all about accommodating your on-the-go lifestyle.
Enjoy!
*we apologize that there were no captions used for this interview as we have been experiencing "technical difficulties"/punctuation bugs in published videos recently. we will attempt to correct the problem soon.
Friday, July 11, 2008
The End of an Era at Heidelberg
After four incredibly successful years at Heidelberg, Head Men's and Women's Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Kevin Lucas has accepted the same head coaching positions at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland.
In his short time at Heidelberg, Lucas brought both programs back to national prominence, leading the men's cross country team to back-to-back team national championship appearances after a six year drought placing 20th (2006) and 27th (2007) respectfully.
Lucas also guided Heidelberg Track & Field to three individual championships via two-time ('06 & '07) Indoor National Long Jump Champion Greg Tyson and 2008 Indoor 55m Dash Champion Judy Bataille.
As the 2008 cross country season begins to rapidly approach we'll keep you updated with any developments concerning the position at Heidelberg.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Eric Schmuhl Joins Yellow Jacket Coaching Staff
The following piece of information was copied word-for-word from OAC Distance contributor Tim Budic's personal blog:
BEREA, OHIO -- Baldwin-Wallace College Head Track and Cross Country Coach Bill Taraschke has hired Eric Schmuhl, a 2005 graduate of the college and former track & field student-athlete, as assistant coach for the men’s and women’s track & field program. Schmuhl joins a Yellow Jacket track program that is one of the best in Ohio.
“We are pleased that Eric Schmuhl is joining our staff at Baldwin-Wallace College and know that he will be a great asset to our track program and student-athletes,” said Taraschke, who will enter his 25th season as head coach. “Eric was an outstanding competitor in college and is quickly becoming an excellent teacher and coach.”
Schmuhl, who earned an undergraduate degree in education at B-W and will earn a Master’s of Education degree this summer from Muskingum College, returns to the College after spending the past year as a graduate assistant coach for track and cross country at Muskingum. In addition to his coaching duties, he assisted in recruiting and strength and conditioning.
Prior to coaching at the collegiate level, Schmuhl was an assistant coach for track and cross country at his high school alma mater, Medina Senior High School in Medina, Ohio for four years. He first served as a volunteeer coach for three seasons and then was hired fulltime for the 2006-2007 academic year. While at Medina Senior, Schmuhl coached several Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) Division I State qualifiers and All-Ohio athletes in track and cross country. Schmuhl also has served as an organizational trustee and clinic instructor for the Greater Medina Track Club since 2006.
Schmuhl, a 2001 graduate of Medina Senior High School, was a 2001 OHSAA State qualifier in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and a two-year team captain in track.
At B-W, Schmuhl ran four years of indoor and outdoor track under Taraschke. He was an NCAA Division III National qualifier for outdoor track in 2004 and 2005 and the 2004 OAC champion in 400-meter intermediate hurdles. He was also a seven-time All-OAC honoree, a 2005 honorable mention Academic All-OAC selection and a three-time Vance Carter Award Winner as the Most Outstanding Male Hurdler.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Episode 6: Cody Pontius
Episode 6: Cody Pontius HD
Uploaded by OAC_Distance
The wait is over. Episode 6 is here.
Wilmington Sophomore Cody Pontius talks about his friendly rivalry with an ONU harrier, his belief that Wilmington should challenge Otterbein this fall, being chased by bears at the start of his summer vacation in Montana and more.
Watch this and our previous 5 episodes on the Talk Shows page.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Talk Shows Get Interactive
I've recently contacted ONU's Paul Lewis to attempt Cellular Talk Shows' first ever group interview. For those of you who don't know; Paul, Jim O'Brien and Eric Porter (often joined by Thomas Adam) are living/training together this summer in a barn in northeast Ohio.
In preparation for the discussion with the quartet that spearhead's the Polar Bear attack we've decided to give you, the viewers, an opportunity to post questions (via the comment link below) you'd like us to ask them in the interview. We'll do our best to ask whatever it is you're curious about. Hurry though, we've yet to decide when this interview will take place, and it could be soon!
You can also post your questions here.Monday, July 7, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Opening Day!
...well, maybe more like "opening night," but we're glad to finally have OACD up and running.
We hope you enjoy things. Go ahead, browse around...and keep in mind, there will be more to come all the time. Things have just begun.