Manchester's Bucher, MSJ's Mitchell Named HCAC Men's Track & Field Athletes of the Year

GREENWOOD , IN - Manchester College 's Korey Bucher (Plymouth, Ind. /H.S.) and Mount St. Joseph 's Randall Mitchell (Columbus, Ohio / Eastmoor Academy ) have been named 2009 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Year and Field Athlete of the Year, respectively. Bucher helped the Spartans to a second place finish at the HCAC Men's Track & Field Championships, while Mitchell led the Lions to a seventh place finish on April 24-25 at Rose-Hulman.

Bucher, a junior for the Spartans, won two events at the 2009 HCAC Championships. The junior sprinter claimed the 200 meter run and the 400 meter run titles. Bucher won the 200 meter run in a time of 21.64 and took the 400 meter crown with a time of 49.16.

Mitchell, a junior for the Lions, won two field events at the meet. He had a winning mark of 49.35 meters in the discus, qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Division III national championships. Mitchell also claimed the title in the in the shot put and finished second in the hammer throw. The junior won the shot put with a mark of 14.76 meters and placed second in the hammer throw, provisionally qualifying for the Division III national championships with a toss of 52.26 meters.

Also receiving recognition for his efforts at the meet is Rose-Hulman freshman Sutton Coleman (Lebanon , Va. /H.S.) . Coleman has been named the 2009 HCAC Track and Field Male Freshman Athlete of the Year. He won individual titles in three events and was a member of the winning Rose-Hulman 4x400 relay team. The Rose freshman won the 110 meter and 400 meter hurdles, finishing with times of 14.88 and 55.37. He also won the triple jump with a leap of 14.12 meters.

Rose-Hulman's Larry Cole was named the HCAC Coach of the Year after leading the Engineers to the school's second-straight HCAC Men's Track & Field team title. Cole, in his sixth season as Rose-Hulman's head coach, helped RHIT win consecutive men's track & field conference championships. The team garnered 191 points to win the championship.

All-HCAC (Event Winners) 

Honorable Mention All-HCAC (Athlete must accumulate 16 points at HCAC Championships)