Southeast Missouri State University
Ohio Valley Conference
Redhawks Set for OVC Cross County Championships
10/30/2024 11:03:00 AM | Cross Country
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State cross country is set to compete at the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championship Friday at the Skyhawk Running Trail, in Martin, Tenn.
The Championship will be held on Friday, November 1 on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin.
For the first time the Championship has moved off its traditional Saturday date and will now be held on a Friday to align with the NCAA Regionals schedule. This marks the first time UT Martin has hosted the event in west Tennessee since 2004.
This will be the 64th OVC men's championship, as the first one was held in 1962; The women's championship will be determined for the 46th time this year.
The women's 6k Race is scheduled for 9 a.m. CT with the men's 8k race to follow at 10:00 a.m.
Athletes of the Championship (winners of each race), Coach of the Year and All-OVC Team (Top 7 = 1st Team, 8-14 = 2nd Team) will be given out after the race.
Coach's Thoughts
SEMO cross country Head Coach Ryan Lane is expecting this cross country championship race to be really close. He thinks there are five teams that have a shot at winning the Championship on the men's side.
"The resounding thing about this year's cross country championships is that there is nobody who is an outright favorite. The thing that is very unique is that it's really packed-in, it's a really competitive race this year on both sides for the first five programs. It's going to be really exciting to see that formulate through twenty 20-25 minutes of racing," Head Coach Lane said when asked about how he thinks this race will play out.
Coach Lane said the men are in the best position they have ever been in to win the race in SEMO's division one era. The men have never been more prepared. They can win the race but we will have to wait until Friday to see.
It wouldn't surprise Coach Lane if the top four men's teams are separated by less than 20 to 15 points and for a cross country meet that is extremely close. Southern Indiana is probably the slight favorite on the men's side because they are so deep but just like every other team, if someone has an off day then the whole team is vulnerable.
On the women's side, the Redhawk women are probably positioned fourth headed into Friday. Having Nova Ojutkangas is really helpful though and the other young women on the team have gotten significantly better each race. They should finish well above their preseason ranking. Seven weeks ago they would be positioned sixth so they have improved every week. "The teams that are sitting in 2nd and 3rd better watch out!".
When asked about Ojutkangas and Noah Little, Coach Lane says Nova is probably the favorite and if she doesn't win then it will be my fault. Little and Nick Cimmarusti are both ranked in the top-5 as individuals and Garrett Dumke is ranked in the top-10 so we are going to be leaning on them to do the best they can so the rest of our team can work to have that special day.
Coach Lane says he really doesn't do anything different from the other weeks to prepare for the conference meet. Keep things relatively normal and then a few days before just pull off the gas a little. He says emotional preparation is probably more important. "Try to keep everyone calm and confident without being arrogant."
He wants people to realize that they don't get to have a conference regular season. Their entire conference season and conference tournament is all on the same day and that can be a lot of pressure on the athletes. These kids have put in close to five months of work for this one race, for these 20 minutes of time.
Coach Lane also would like to invite everyone to come and watch. Martin, Tennessee is only one hour and forty minutes away so if anyone wants to come and watch a championship race at a really high level then he hopes to see you out there cheering them on.
Redhawk Scorers
The top five finishers in each race count towards the overall team score.
On the women's side Ojutkangas has led the Redhawks in all four races. Other scorers include freshman Lauren Eftink (4), Erika Mellor (4), Brooklyn Bender (3), Madelyn Gray (2), Kayla Vogelsang and freshman Cordelia Hoover and Mattea Pearsall.
On the men's side Little has led the men three times and scored in every race. Cimmarusti has led the men in one race and scored in every race as well. Other scorers include Dumke (4), Myles Thornburg (3), Freshman Evan Fuller (2), Justin Splitt, Cade McCadams, and Byron Sowerby.
Pure Dominance
Nova Ojutkangas has dominated in all her races this season, leading the Redhawk women in every race. The redshirt sophomore has placed first in all but one race this season while claiming OVC Female Runner of the Week a league high four times.
Ojutkangas also broke the SEMO 6k record of 20: 42.77 set by Hannah Eastman last year when she crossed the line at 20:31.3 at the Angel Mounds Invitational last week.
2023 Championship Results
Last year the Eastern Illinois men's and women's teams swept the Championships for the second-straight year. It marked the fourth-straight and 11th overall title for the EIU men's team and the second-straight and fourth overall title for the women's program.
The Southeast Missouri women's team finished in third place and the Redhawk men's team finished in sixth place with both teams finishing with five new personal bests.
Last year Hannah Eastman became just the fourth woman in SEMO history to win the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championship.
Noah Little was named to First-Team All OVC after crossing the finish line in seventh place, notching his second postseason honor.
Taylor Fox finished in seventh place as well to earn First-Team All OVC laurels.
Looking Ahead
After wrapping up the OVC Championship the qualifying Redhawks will head to Peoria, Ill. for the NCAA Midwest Regionals, Friday, November 15.
