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Southern Indiana senior
Alex Nolan and senior
Ellie Hall were named the 2026 OVC Male and Female Cross Country Athletes of the Year in a vote of league head coaches and announced on the eve of the 2026 OVC Cross Country Championship.
In addition, SEMO’s
Drew Upperman and Western Illinois'
Karson Oberbender were named the 2026 OVC Freshmen of the Year.
Prior to the 2011 season the awards for the top honors in cross country were determined by placement at the OVC Championship but were changed to a vote in 2011. This year's OVC Championship will be held on Friday, October 30 on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Following the race, the awards for Athletes of the Championships, Coach of the Year and the All-OVC teams will be awarded.
Nolan holds the top 8K time (23:38.5) in the OVC this season and was named OVC Runner of the Week three times. The senior has the second fastest 6k time in the conference, just behind his brother, sophomore Jackson Nolan. In his first 8k event of the season, Nolan earned a 9th place finish at the Spartan Invite with a time of 24:45.9. He closed out the regular season with a 24:10.0 at the Under Armour Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind. His top performance came at the Gans Creek Classic on September 25. This marks his second consecutive Athlete of the Year honor.
Hall has posted the top conference times this season in the 6k and 4k. The senior earned three Runner of the Week honors this season. In her first 8k this year, she ran a 21:56.7 at the Spartan Invite. She followed with her top time of the season at 20:39.4 in her next outing, the Gans Creek Classic on September 25. This is her second straight Athlete of the Year selection.
Upperman tallied the fastest 8K time by an OVC freshman this season when he ran 24:44.6 at the Bradley Pink Classic, which placed him 89th out of 209 runners. He began the season with a 26:07.5 on September 18 at the Ohio Valley Conference Preview. Upperman cut his time in his next outing with a 25:54.2 at the Nike XC Town Twilight. He joins Nate Shipley (2008) as the only two Redhawks to win the award.
Oberender has the best times for a freshman in the OVC in both the 5k and 6k this season. Both of those results are the second best for all runners in the conference. She was named OVC Runner of the Week on Oct. 21 for her performance at the Bradley Pink Classic where she posted a personal best, 21:32.2. The time topped her previous best of 22:43.3 at the John McNichols Invitational (9/19). She ran an 18:41.2 in her first collegiate event, the 5k Huskie Classic, before recording a 17:54.3 at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational. This is the first yearly award for a cross country runner, men or women, from Western Illinois.