September 27, 1999
Heidelberg cross country team hopes to place in OAC
By Andy Cole
Sports Writer
A lot can change in four years.
The goal for the Heidelberg cross country program when senior Seth Hothem and his classmates arrived on campus might have been to win the Ohio Athletic Conference in cross country or track. After all, it had never happened at The 'Berg before.
An OAC title in each sport and two cross country national appearances later, the goals are understandably a bit higher.
"I think what's different between when we came here and now is we know more about our potential," said Hothem, an environmental biology major with a perfect GPA in college. "As a team, we thought we could be good when we came here. The big difference is confidence. We've gotten a lot more confident after four years with that kind of success."
With all the work it must take to keep that kind of grade average, Hothem doesn't have any problem finding time to running 80 miles a week.
"Running has always been a big part of my life, so I knew how to balance running and studies before I got to Heidelberg," Hothem said. "I didn't find it too hard. I'm proud of what I've done here with running and academically. It's a great accomplishment."
Heidelberg head coach Larry Brown has seen this group of seniors come through three seasons at The 'Berg, and the success they have enjoyed hasn't been a surprise to him. According to Brown, the foundation of a good team was planted before they had even run in Heidelberg uniforms because of their collective commitment to the sport.
"Anyone who is successful as these seniors have been doesn't get there without being committed," Brown said. "These guys are national caliber athletes at the Division III level, and their commitment is total. Nobody's taken any shortcuts around here. I don't think some people understand the amount of effort these guys have put in.
"Seth's a great example of what this program and this college are about. Seth has come light years in terms of his own personal development as a runner in college, and not a lot of kids can do what he did in taking the directions and applying themselves. I would hope that Seth will continue to run no matter what he does after graduation. If he shows the same work ethic in the work world that he does on this team, he'll be fine anywhere."
Hothem knows just as well as anyone that the work is far from done. For one thing, Heidelberg looks to improve on a disappointing performance at the national meet last season. Just getting to the meet isn't a reward in itself anymore, and Brown knows how difficult it will be for his already fine team to step up its performance.
"Our kids are very intelligent, and they realize that the past is the past," Brown said. "They're very focused and motivated by what happened because they don't want to make the same mistakes again.
"It was a letdown, but they're all mature to take it for the lesson that it was and move on. It's going to take all seven guys stepping it up on the course to do well at the national level."
The team takes a trip to Notre Dame this coming weekend to compete in the Notre Dame Invitational. The trip has become a yearly way to tell how well Heidelberg stacks up against the toughest competition possible and how far they need to go to get to the next level. Many of the top Division I programs will be there, in addition to four of the the top five Division III teams. Even before the nationals, The 'Berg will have a good idea of what it's up against, and Brown is confident they can compete.
"As a group, these seniors were the first really talented large group of kids we'd had," Brown said. "We had talented individuals, but these eight guys have really put their stamp on this program as a unit.
"We've been very dependant on these guys to give the program a better foundation, and they've done a great job of that. We have a great program now, and we can compete at the national level. We can compete with anyone, anytime. Seth and the rest of the seniors have helped give us that."
Hothem echoes Brown's sentiments on forgetting the nationals last year. This group of seniors wants to make its mark at the nationals, because there is no next year for eight of them.
"We expected to do better at the nationals last year, and we were a bit disappointed," Hothem said. "We definitely don't want to see that same thing happen this year. We're focused on placing well at the nationals. It won't be easy, but nothing is.
"I'm going to miss competition running the most when I graduate. I'll miss competing and I'll miss the sense of team. Just having 24 guys there who I could always run with or hang out with helped me out a lot."