Heidelberg Athletics Hall of Fame
The middle year of three straight OAC titles, the 1999 Heidelberg men’s cross country team was loaded with experience. Competing as a team at the NCAA Division III Championship for the third year in a row, Heidelberg placed 17th overall.
Head Coach Larry Brown described his team -- which was ranked as high as No. 2 -- as “extremely committed,” and remarked that the group “got the most out of their talent.” Brown was named OAC Coach of the Year following the season.
Heidelberg won four events that season, including their own Early Bird Invitational, the Ohio Northern Invitational, All-Ohio (top D3 finisher) and -- most importantly -- the OAC Championship. Heidelberg dominated the field at the conference meet with a team score of 24 and six of the top 12 finishers. All-OAC honors were earned by Adam Koppin, D.J. Hensinger, Seth Hothem, Aaron Hay, and Jason Perez.
The Berg was third at the NCAA Regional meet hosted by Ohio Northern, narrowly missing out on second place. The team was led by all-region performances from Koppin, Hensinger, Jason Maus and Hay.
The National Championship was held on Nov. 20, 1999, in Winnecome, Wisconsin. Hensinger and Koppin crossed the finish line together, clocking a 25:02 -- the fastest finish at nationals ever by Heidelberg athletes.
Koppin led the charge for The Berg all season long, serving as the team’s top finisher at seven of the 10 meets that season. Including an individual qualification in 1996, he became the first runner in school history to compete at nationals four times. He remains tied atop the program’s all-time PR records.
Other members of the team included Jake Bibb, Scott Bolenbaugh, Charles Carpenter, Jeremy Dreger, Jayson Dupuis, Scott Elmlinger, Todd Gerwig, Nathan Gibson, Bryce Harris, Jason Maus, Michael Mechtenberg, Brendon Moody, David Norris, Russell Petersen, Michael Podrosky, Jacob Schultz, Joseph Siegel, Steve Smith, T.J. Tuttamore, and assistant coach John Gilbert.
