MARTIN, Tenn. - Nova Ojutkangas wins the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country meet, becoming just the fifth woman in SEMO history to accomplish the feat.
The Southeast Missouri women's team finished in fifth tied with Western Illinois with 136 points. Southern Indiana placed first with 41 total points.
The Southeast Missouri men's team finished fourth with 108 total points. The USI men's team also took first with 56 total points.
All OVC
Ojutkangas crossed the line at 20:58.51, ahead of 94 other athletes and 39 seconds ahead of second place to claim the OVC 6k title. This is her fourth first place finish in five races this year. She finishes as the Female Athlete of the Championship and takes home All OVC First team Laurels.
Senior
Noah Little Crossed the line at 24:23.60 to take fourth in the 8k race. Little finished ahead of 86 other athletes and took home his second straight All OVC First Team honor.
Coaches Thoughts
"On the men's side we ran really really well. We could have been 30 points lower but we had some athletes dealing with sickness and it was a really tough conference" said head coach
Ryan Lane when asked about the men's race.
On the women's side Lane said "Nova ran well as expected and the younger girls also ran well behind her. Can't ask much more than people running close to season's best and
Madelyn Gray had her best race of the season, overall a very strong day".
Looking ahead he said "We look for Nova and Noah to do well at the regional meet".
Women's 6k
Madelyn Gray and Freshman
Lauren Eftink crossed the line at 22:57.57 (25th) and 23:02.67 (30th) to take second and third for the Redhawks.
With times of 23:10.89 and 23:26.92
Brooklyn Bender and
Kayla Vogelsang placed 37th and 47th to round out the scorers for the women's team.
Erika Mellor finished the 6k race with a time of 23:30.51 for 49th and
Alayna Sparr notched an ending time of 23:51.12 for 55th
Freshmen
Cordelia Hoover and
Mattea Pearsall finished back-to-back in 57th and 58th with times of 23:56.64 and 23:59.40.
Layla Fliege posted a finishing time of 24:04.42 for 64th place
Men's 8k
With places of 16th and 27th
Garrett Dumke and
Myles Thornburg finished second and third for the men's team with times of 24:54.50 and 25:25.70.
Cade McCadams notched a finishing mark of 25:26.30 (26th) and Freshman
Evan Fuller ran his first OVC championship in 25:47.80 for 40th.
Nick Cimmarusti and
Byron Sowerby Placed back-to-back in 52nd and 53rd with times of 26:23.20 and 26:25.10.
With finishing marks of 26:52.30 and 27:02.70
Clayton Eftink and
Justin Splitt also placed back-to-back at 66th and 67th
Freshman
Tyler Anderson posted an ending time of 27:09.40 for 70th.
Looking Ahead
The qualifying Redhawks will head to Peoria, Ill. for the NCAA Midwest Regional, Friday, November 15.
