Led by an all-conference performance from senior Gary Monroe, the MSU men's cross country team finished second out of 12 teams at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship at Oxford Lake Park Saturday (Nov. 1). The Eagle women finished in sixth place and were paced by an all-conference effort from junior Alex Morris.
The men's team tallied its highest finish at the OVC Championship since 2006.
Monroe and Morris were each tabbed Second-Team All-OVC. Running in his final league championship race, Monroe placed 10th with a time of 24:42:86, which was also good for the fourth fastest 8K effort in program history.
Morris finished the 5K course in 17:48:20 which was good for 10th place, and her time was the second fastest 5K run in school history.
The Eagle men had five runners in the top-25. Senior Desmond Bell covered the course in 25:10:98 for 17th place. Junior Jesse Moreno was 18th, finishing in 25:13:00.
Junior Evan Childers came in fourth in the lineup with a time of 25:20:64 and a 20th place finish. Junior Jorge Gil-Juarez was next with a time of 25:26:00, while freshman Hunter Trenary (25:54:25), sophomore Mason Blevins (26:10:37), and sophomore Jeremy Ruppert (26:49:79) closed out the MSU contingent.
Behind Morris for the women was sophomore Hannah Mullins in 26th place with a time of 18:29:36. Junior Erica Parks crossed the finish line with an 18:33:81 clocking, while freshmen Abby Soltisz notched a 19:04:14.
Not too far behind was sophomore Haley Mullins with a 19:06:64, while sophomore Alyssa Shifflett (19:20:71) and junior Jasmyn Andrews (19:36:34) rounded out the MSU crew.
Eastern Kentucky claimed both men's and women's titles. Ambrose Maritim won the men' race, running a 23:59:29 while EKU senior Ann Eason came in first on the women's circuit with a time of 17:04:73.
MSU's season finale for both squads is now at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Louisville on Nov. 14th.
