Welch Named Midwest Field Athlete of the Year

Junior Justin Welch of the Oilers track team was tabbed the 2014 Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on March 10.

The Luckey, Ohio native is the NCAA Division II leader in the weight throw with two separate marks of 72'2.25 (22m), ranking him third on the all-time DII performers list.  He is also ranked sixth all-time among all college throwers.

Welch finished as the runner-up in the event at the 2014 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship and notched a sixth-place finish at the USATF Indoor Championship earlier this season.

Welch is the top-seed in the event at the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship, which is scheduled to run from March 14-15 in Winston-Salem, N.C.