Derrick Vicars figured he had a chance to become a national champion in the discus, but he knew Mother Nature had to lend a helping hand.

Vicars, a 2008 graduate of Genoa High School who is now a member of the University of Findlay track and field team, had the 11th-best qualifying throw heading into the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C.

“It depended on the weather,” said Vicars, 21, a sophomore majoring in education at UF. “It actually worked out. We threw in bad weather all year and all those other guys had their PRs in good weather and really good wind. In discus, there is a certain wind you want. We had a lot of rain this year and I figured if we had not-so-good weather, I would have a really good shot. Guys in Texas aren't used to rain or having good winds all the time.”

On May 29, after bad weather had postponed the meet, Vicars threw the shot 173 feet, 1 inch (52.77 meters) to become the national Division II outdoor discus champion. Vicars placed 14th at the NCAA championships last year.

This year's runner-up was James Coleman, a freshman from Missouri Southern, with a throw of 172-3 (52.54 meters).

The 6-1, 240-pound Vicars, who had thrown more than 176 feet earlier this season at a meet in Tennessee, competed in the first of two discus flights at the NCAA championships.

“That's where I had my best throw,” he said. “It was my third (and final) throw in prelims. I didn't know if it would hold up because some guys had farther throws coming in. The second flight had a better wind than we had, so I thought there was no chance of my throw holding up. It didn't rain during prelims and it started raining in the finals, so that helped me out, also.”

The top nine throwers advanced to the finals, but their preliminary throws could still be used to determine where each competitor placed overall.

“I threw around 170 and change in the finals,” Vicars said. “I was really nervous. I probably would have thrown farther in the finals, but I was nervous about my throw holding up. I was thinking someone was going to pass that. You can't tell if they're going farther than you or not, because it's so hard to tell. It was really nerve-wracking.”

Vicars also qualified to the NCAA championships in the shot put, where he finished 12th with a throw of 54-4. He was the sixth-ranked thrower entering the meet.

“I didn't throw well at all,” Vicars said. “I was four feet under my PR. I had been throwing well the previous two weeks and was hoping to make the top four, and I didn't even make finals. I was disappointed. It definitely motivates me to get better for next year.”

Several of Vicars' family members, including his parents, Mike and Cecilia, and his younger brother, Marcus, drove 10 hours to North Carolina to witness him become an NCAA Division II national champion.

“It's overwhelming,” Vicars said, “because I expected to be a national champion, but not my sophomore year. I expected to be throwing farther when I won. I threw bad in the shot put the day before, so it was a relief that I came out and threw well in the discus. I couldn't stop smiling, actually. It's hard to even think about. It's crazy.”

At Genoa, Vicars placed third in the discus his senior year at the Division II state meet. He also took third in the shot as a junior and senior.

Athlete of the Week
At the Tiffin Twilight Invitational on May 12, Vicars took home the gold in the shot put with an NCAA Division II automatic qualifying heave of 17.12 meters.

Later, Vicars took second in the shot put at the Keefer Invitational with a provisional mark of 55 feet, two inches. At the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships May 7 in Big Rapids, Mich., Vicars was sixth in the hammer throw (176-5). Findlay took fourth with 84 points.

The University of Findlay men's and women's outdoor track and field teams completed the second and final day of the 2010 Jesse Owens Classic on Saturday, May 1 in Columbus, Ohio as the Oilers put up a good showing against some of the top talent from around the nation. Vicars was 11th in the discus with a provisional qualifying toss of 164-10.

Vicars was named the GLIAC Field Athlete of the Week for the second time on April 28. Vicars finished first in the shot put with a NCAA automatic qualifying and school record breaking throw of 58-10 while taking third in the discus with an automatic qualifying heave of 173-11 at the Ashland Invitational.

Vicars was awarded with athlete of the week honors the first time on April 6 by the GLIAC. Vicars captured the gold in the discus with a school record breaking and NCAA provisional qualifying heave of 52-46 at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational in Cincinnati. He also took third in the shot put (16-72) and fourth in the hammer throw (54-57), another provisional qualifying mark.

At the Wake Forest Open in Winston-Salem, N.C., Vicars led the way by placing first in two events as he took home the gold with a school record breaking and NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark of 55-11/2 in the shot put and had the top finish in the discus at 170 feet, also a school record as well as a provisional mark.

Vicars transferred to Findlay from the University of Cincinnati. He was a multiple state qualifier in track at Genoa and was named first team All-Ohio in football. Last year as a UF freshman, Vicars was 14th in the NCAA D-II national discus championship

Findlay was ranked 19th in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) D-II poll, which was released on May 11.

Also at Findlay is sophomore pole vaulter and distance runner Elliot Goetz (Gibsonburg), sophomore distance runner Jordan Kirwen (Gibsonburg), and senior pole vaulter Ryan McKibben (Eastwood).

McKibben won the 2006 prep state championship in the pole vault as an Eagle. Goetz was named second team All-Suburban Lakes League and second team all-district as a Golden Bear. Kirwen was a two-time Ohio state qualifier in cross country and also qualified for state in track, in addition to being named first team All-SLL in basketball twice.

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