Ohio Valley Conference

• Championships Info Page | OVC Record Book

The 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championship will be run on Saturday at the Vaughn's Creek Cross Country Course at Percy Warner Park in Nashville, Tennessee. The women's 5K race will begin at 9:00 a.m. CT with the men's 8K race following at 10 a.m.

It marks the first time the championship has been held in Nashville since 2009 and is the first OVC Championship that Belmont has hosted since joining the Conference prior to the 2012-13 season. The meet is free and open to the public.

This will be the 55th OVC men's championship, as the first one was held in 1962. Eastern Kentucky has won the most OVC Championships (24), including the last 10 in a row and 11 of the last 12. EKU has had the individual champion in each of the last 12 years.

The women's championship will be determined for the 38th time this year. Eastern Kentucky has won 29 of the previous 37 championships, including each of the past four seasons.

The OVC Athletes and Freshmen of the Year, which are determined by coaches vote, will be announced on Friday night at an awards banquet while the Coach of the Year, Athletes of the Championship and All-OVC honors will be presented following Saturday's Championship.

Men's Preview
Eastern Kentucky, the nine-time defending champion, enters Saturday's race as the favorites as they have been ranked as high as No. 8 nationally this season. Although the Colonels have been battling injuries and fell out of the national poll last week, they are ranked No. 5 in the Southeast Region entering this week.  The team has qualified for the NCAA Championship in each of the past five years, the second-longest stretch for a program in league history. After finishing a school record 15th place in 2013 the program was 17th at the NCAAs a season ago, its second-highest finish ever.  Sophomore Erick Rotich, last year’s OVC Runner of the Year and Athlete of the Championship, was the team’s top finisher at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational two weeks ago, although it is graduate student Amos Kosgey, the 2014 OVC Runner of the Year, who owns the top 8K time in the OVC this season (23:57.1). Kosgey missed most of 2015 with an injury.

Host Belmont enters the OVC Championship ranked No. 11 in the South Region. The Bruins have finished in the Top 5 in each of its first four OVC Championships since joining the league including a fourth place finish a season ago. Juniors Matt Edwards and Luke Evans have been the top runners for Belmont this season with Edwards leading the way at the Crimson Classic two weeks ago. Evans finished 33rd overall at the OVC Championship in 2015.

Tennessee Tech has had one of its best cross country seasons in recent history and enters the OVC Championship ranked No. 12 in the South Region. The team is looking for its best OVC Championship team finish since placing fifth in 2009, the last time the meet was held in Nashville. Freshman Gilbert Boit has set several TTU records this season and been named OVC Runner of the Week twice during the year. He owns the third-best 8K time in the League this year (23:59.70).

Eastern Illinois, who was second as a team a year ago, has won seven OVC Championships with the last coming in 2005 prior to EKU starting its current string of wins. The Panthers are currently ranked No. 15 in the Midwest Region and led by senior Riley McInerney who was fourth at the OVC Championship a season ago after being 15th as a sophomore in 2014 and 12th as a freshman in 2013.

UT Martin has been paced by freshman Edwin Kurgat this season who has been the team’s top finisher at each of its meets. That included a 16th place finish at the Commodore Classic earlier this season and a 17th place finish at the Crimson Classic two weeks ago.

The SIUE men’s team has finished third at the OVC Championship each of the past two seasons. If the Cougars want to improve on that finish this season they will turn towards senior Keith Meyer who was named OVC Runner of the Week on October 18. In that outing he recorded the second-fastest 8K time in SIUE history (24:34.9) to place eighth out of 241 competitors at the Bradley Pink Classic. He will look to improve on his fifth-place individual finish from a season ago at the OVC Championship.

Freshman Farah Abdulkarim has been one of the top newcomers in the League this season for Morehead State. He has been the Eagles top runner in each of the team’s meets and was 14th in his race at the Pre-Nationals Invitational two weeks ago. Abdulkarim owns the eighth-best 8K time in the OVC this season (24:37.96), a time he established on October 1 at the Greater Louisville Classic.

Southeast Missouri will be looking to break back into the top five at the OVC Championship after finishing sixth and seventh respectively each of the past two seasons. Senior Marc Maton has led the team at each of its last two races; he was 34th at the OVC Championship two seasons ago and 41st last year.

A year ago Murray State hosted the OVC Championship and put together a sixth-place finish, its top finish since 2002. This year junior Mark Ventura, who was 26th at the 2015 OVC Championship and then set a PR at the NCAA Regionals, will pace the Racers team.

Sophomore Wesley Gray was Austin Peay’s top finisher at the OVC Championship a season ago, and two weeks ago at the team’s tune-up for the postseason was 16th at the Jenna Strong Invitational. Freshmen Hezron Kiptoo and Tyler Smith have had strong rookie campaigns this season for APSU.
Jacksonville State has been paced by senior Stephen Payne once again this season. He was 45th at the OVC Championship a year ago.

Earlier this season senior Quamel Prince became the first Tennessee State student-athlete to ever be named OVC Runner of the Week after placing 13th at the Austin Peay Invitational. In each of his prior three OVC Championships he has been TSU’s top finisher including placing 75th a season ago.

Women's Preview
Eastern Kentucky enters the OVC Championship ranked No. 4 in the Southeast Region. The Colonels have won the team championship each of the past four years. Two weeks ago, the team was 17th in a deep field at the Pre-Nationals Invitational in Terre Haute. Sophomore Charlotte Imer has earned a trio of OVC Runner of the Week awards this season including after placing 19th at the Pre-Nationals in a field of 285 competitors. She owns the top 5K (16:52.20) and 6K (20:32.9) times in the OVC this season and will look to improve on her fifth place OVC Championship finish a season ago.

A season ago Ann Asipan was a surprise winner of the individual title at the OVC Championship as she topped the field by 12 seconds in her championship debut. This season the now senior will look to be the first individual to repeat as OVC champion since Samford’s Lauren Blankenship in 2004 and 2005. Asipan, who has the second-best 6K time (20:47.2) in the OVC this season, has helped UT Martin to its first-ever regional ranking in program history; the Skyhawks enter the OVC Championship ranked 13th in the South Region. The team’s best-ever OVC finish was fourth in 1995.

For each of the past 24 years the Southeast Missouri women's team has finished in the top half at the OVC Championship, including a third place finish a season ago. Most recently the Redhawks jumped to 13th in the Midwest Region of the USTFCCCA rankings. Senior Megan Parks has been the team’s top finisher in three meets this season, including earning OVC Runner of the Week honors on September 13 after finishing fourth at the Ole Miss Rebel Invitational. Kaitlyn Shea, last year’s OVC Freshman of the Year, has led the Redhawks in its other two meets this season.

Eastern Illinois, the 2011 OVC Champions, have been the runners-up at each of the past two OVC Championships. The Panthers are led by junior Maria Baldwin who was named OVC Runner of the Week each of the first two weeks of the season. She has earned All-OVC honors in each of her first two OVC Championships including finishing sixth a season ago. Senior Ruth Garippo recorded the fourth-best 6K time in the OVC during her last meet (21:24.3).

In four years as a member of the OVC, Belmont has a pair of second-place finishes, a third place and fifth place team finish. This year they are looking to become the first host team to win the meet since EKU in 1990. Senior Hannah Denton and freshman Kortney Schardt have each led the team in races this season. Two weeks ago, it was Denton who finished 29th at the Crimson Classic in recording the ninth-best 6K time in the OVC this year (21:33.7).

Junior Vallery Korir has smashed the long-standing Murray State 5K and 6K records this season and should be in contention for a top place at the OVC Championship. She earned OVC Runner of the Week honors on October 4 after placing second in a field of 222 at the Gold Race of the Notre Dame Invitational. Last time out she was eighth at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. Junior Emily Flaherty also earned OVC Runner of the Week honors earlier this season after a 12th place finish at the Austin Peay Invitational.

Senior Alex Morris has paced Morehead State at two of its meets this season. At its last race, however, it was freshman Caitlin Cunningham who led the way at the Pre-Nationals Invitational. Sophomore Kansas Greenwell was MSU’s top finisher at the OVC Championship a year ago when she placed 21st.

Senior Erin Kennedy will look to pace the SIUE team at Saturday’s meet. In her last race, she was 48th overall at the Bradley Pink Classic. She was the Cougars top finisher (27th) at the OVC Championship a year ago.

Junior newcomer Micayla Rennick has been Tennessee Tech’s top finisher in each of its races this season including a second-place finish in the Blue Race at the Greater Louisville Classic in early October. Her 6K time of 21:20.4 at the Crimson Classic two weeks ago was the third-best in the OVC this season.

Four times this season junior Becca Wheeler has been Austin Peay’s top finisher at its meets. Wheeler missed the OVC Championship with an injury last year after placing 58th at the meet her freshman year (2014).

Senior Ju-ells McLeod and sophomore Autumn Rich have been Jacksonville State’s top runners this season. McLeod was the Gamecocks top finisher at the OVC Championship last year when she placed 56th.

Tennessee State junior Kenyana Hampton has paced the Tigerbelles at each of the previous two OVC Championships, including placed 64th as a freshman and 49th a season ago.