Saturday, October 31
Murray, Ky.
9AM
Southeast Missouri State University
at
2015 OVC Cross Country Championships
Photo by: Bill Barrett
Redhawks Run at OVC Championships Saturday
10/29/2015 5:33:00 PM | Cross Country
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri's cross country teams head to the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Championships Saturday.
Murray State plays host to the event, which begins with the women's 5k at 9 a.m., CT, followed by the men's 8k at 10 a.m. The Racers last hosted the OVC Championships in 2003.
This year marks the 37th OVC Championship race for the women. Eastern Kentucky has 28 OVC titles, winning each of the last three seasons. Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Murray State each have two titles, while former OVC affiliate Samford has the other two.
Southeast's women's team looks to continue running strong this postseason. The Redhawks have finished among the top four teams in the OVC for 23-straight years. Junior Megan Parks hopes to lead her team to a higher finish this weekend.
"I just try to be the best I can be, individually, to help the team in anyway I can," said Parks. "As a team, our goal is to finish in the top three this year but, individually, I am competing for one of the top 14 spots and earn all-conference honors. I feel like that is attainable."
Freshman Kaitlyn Shea is having a nice rookie campaign. Shea finished second overall at the opening meet in St. Louis and has been Southeast's second-best runner her last three races.
"We knew Kaitlyn was going to be good and she has far exceeded our expectations," said Southeast head coach Ryan Lane. "We are very pleased with her work ethic and I believe she will continue to improve and become a big factor in our program in the future."
Junior Angela Sumner, sophomore Sydney O'Brien and freshman Celine Rone round out the top-five for the Redhawk women.
Meanwhile, this year marks the 54th OVC Championship appearance for the Southeast men's team. Like the women, EKU has also dominated on the men's side, claiming 23 total championships. The Colonels won their ninth-straight title and 10th in the previous 11 years in 2014.
Junior Marc Maton paves the way, as the men prepare for a strong finish.
"Our training is set up so that we can all peak together at the right time," said Maton. "We're looking for some of our young guys to step up down the stretch and help this team any way they can."
Maton has enjoyed a lot of success this season, winning the Gabby Reuveni to start the year. He was named OVC Male Runner of the Week after a big showing at the Commodore Classic. Maton placed 20th out of 213 competitors and beat the next closest OVC runner by 22 seconds.
Senior Shane Brown enters his fourth and final OVC championship. Brown was the team's second-best runner behind Maton every race he participated in and had a big hand in Southeast's current conference standing. Despite battling bronchitis early in the season, he has consistently improved.
"There are three teams on the men's side, that are within a couple points of fourth place, and we are in that position," said Lane. "We have two guys way out front and two guys in the middle, but we're looking to see who is going to step up and help us at the fifth spot."
Sophomore Dan Plunkett and newcomers Jaime Zarate and Curtis Reed close out Southeast's lineup.
The OVC Athletes and Freshmen of the Year will be announced Friday night during the pre-championships awards banquet. The Coach of the Year, Athletes of the Championship and All-OVC accolades will then be presented after Saturday's meet.
Murray State plays host to the event, which begins with the women's 5k at 9 a.m., CT, followed by the men's 8k at 10 a.m. The Racers last hosted the OVC Championships in 2003.
This year marks the 37th OVC Championship race for the women. Eastern Kentucky has 28 OVC titles, winning each of the last three seasons. Eastern Illinois, Morehead State and Murray State each have two titles, while former OVC affiliate Samford has the other two.
Southeast's women's team looks to continue running strong this postseason. The Redhawks have finished among the top four teams in the OVC for 23-straight years. Junior Megan Parks hopes to lead her team to a higher finish this weekend.
"I just try to be the best I can be, individually, to help the team in anyway I can," said Parks. "As a team, our goal is to finish in the top three this year but, individually, I am competing for one of the top 14 spots and earn all-conference honors. I feel like that is attainable."
Freshman Kaitlyn Shea is having a nice rookie campaign. Shea finished second overall at the opening meet in St. Louis and has been Southeast's second-best runner her last three races.
"We knew Kaitlyn was going to be good and she has far exceeded our expectations," said Southeast head coach Ryan Lane. "We are very pleased with her work ethic and I believe she will continue to improve and become a big factor in our program in the future."
Junior Angela Sumner, sophomore Sydney O'Brien and freshman Celine Rone round out the top-five for the Redhawk women.
Meanwhile, this year marks the 54th OVC Championship appearance for the Southeast men's team. Like the women, EKU has also dominated on the men's side, claiming 23 total championships. The Colonels won their ninth-straight title and 10th in the previous 11 years in 2014.
Junior Marc Maton paves the way, as the men prepare for a strong finish.
"Our training is set up so that we can all peak together at the right time," said Maton. "We're looking for some of our young guys to step up down the stretch and help this team any way they can."
Maton has enjoyed a lot of success this season, winning the Gabby Reuveni to start the year. He was named OVC Male Runner of the Week after a big showing at the Commodore Classic. Maton placed 20th out of 213 competitors and beat the next closest OVC runner by 22 seconds.
Senior Shane Brown enters his fourth and final OVC championship. Brown was the team's second-best runner behind Maton every race he participated in and had a big hand in Southeast's current conference standing. Despite battling bronchitis early in the season, he has consistently improved.
"There are three teams on the men's side, that are within a couple points of fourth place, and we are in that position," said Lane. "We have two guys way out front and two guys in the middle, but we're looking to see who is going to step up and help us at the fifth spot."
Sophomore Dan Plunkett and newcomers Jaime Zarate and Curtis Reed close out Southeast's lineup.
The OVC Athletes and Freshmen of the Year will be announced Friday night during the pre-championships awards banquet. The Coach of the Year, Athletes of the Championship and All-OVC accolades will then be presented after Saturday's meet.
Players Mentioned
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/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
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