October 29, 2016

Gilbert Boit wins 2016 OVC Men's Cross Country Title; Golden Eagles place fifth overall

It was an exciting day as the Tennessee Tech men and women’s cross country team competed in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at the Percy Warner State Park in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday morning.

By Holly Weber, TTU Sports Information

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—It was an exciting day as the Tennessee Tech men and women's cross country team competed in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at the Percy Warner State Park in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday morning. The morning's action was highlighted by a Gilbert Boit first place finish in the men's 8,000-meter race, claiming Tech's first OVC individual men's cross country title ever, and first program title since former women's cross country runner Stephanie Place finished first in 2008.

Boit beat out a field of 90 runners across the 12 league teams with an 8K time of 24:20.9, clocking in 10 seconds faster than the next runner from Eastern Kentucky. Brannon Cheplak finished second for the Golden Eagle men, placing 17th overall with a time of 25:47.9. Sigei Bernard finished third for Tech and 20th overall with a time of 25:52.4. Also finishing for the Golden Eagles were: Daniel Williamson who placed 43rd respectively with a time of 27:04.3; Paul Patterson who came in 61st with a time of 28:04.6; and Joshua Daughtry who placed 68th with a time of 28:37.2.

The Tech men placed fifth overall with 139 points, marking their best team finish since 2009 (placed fifth). Eastern Kentucky took the men's team title for the 11th straight year with 37 points, while Belmont placed second with 92 points. Coming in third was Morehead State with 101 points and Eastern Illinois placed fourth with 103 points. Rounding out the men's race were UT Martin in sixth (164); SIUE in seventh (169); Murray State in eighth (175); Austin Peay in ninth (220); Southeast Missouri in 10th (224); Jacksonville State in 11th (361); and Tennessee State in 12th (367).

The Golden Eagle women placed seventh with 175 points (best finish since 2010 when the Tech women placed sixth), while Eastern Kentucky won its fifth straight OVC Title with 29 points. Southeast Missouri came in second with 94 points; Belmont was third with 107 points; Eastern Illinois was fourth with 110 points; UT Martin was fifth with 112 points; and Murray State was sixth with 133 points. Rounding out the women's race were SIUE in eight (175), Morehead State in ninth (195); Jacksonville State in 10th (316), Austin Peay in 11th (354), and Tennessee State in 12th (357).

Micayla Rennick paced the Tech women's team, placing sixth respectively with a personal best and school record 5K time of 17:29.8. Jenna Storms finished second for the Golden Eagle women, placing 34th overall with a time of 18:26.9. Purity Murity came in right behind Storms, finishing 35th overall with a time of 18:28.6. Also finishing for the Tech squad were: Sarah Brandt who placed 42nd overall with a time of 18:36.1; Madison Stremler who placed 65th with a time of 19:35.3; Anna Cooper who came in 73rd with with a time of 20:32.7; D'Airrien Jackson who placed 80th with a time of 21:23.2; and Andrea Retano who finished 83rd with a time of 22:10.4.

Announced after the day's festivities had concluded were the All-OVC teams, Coach of the Year, and Athletes of the Championship. Boit was honored for the Golden Eagles as he was named to the All-OVC first team, as well as took home the OVC Male Athlete of the Championship accolades. For the women, Rennick was selected to the All-OVC first team. Eastern Kentucky's Rick Erdmann was named the men and women's Coach of the Year, marking his 53rd combined Coach of the Year honors.

OVC Commissioner Beth DeBauche with Gilbert Boit (Photo by OVC Sports)

Men's Awards
Athlete of the Year: Erick Rotich, Eastern Kentucky
Athlete of the Championship: Gilbert Boit, Tennessee Tech
Coach of the Year: Rick Erdmann, Eastern Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Gilbert Boit, Tennessee Tech

All-OVC First Team
Gilbert Boit, Tennessee Tech
Ambrose Maritim, Eastern Kentucky
Amos Kosgey, Eastern Kentucky
Farah Abdulkarim, Morehead State
Keith Meyer, SIUE
Justin Moakler, Morehead State
Paxson Menard, Eastern Illinois

All-OVC Second Team
Riley McInerney, Eastern Illinois
Jakob Abrahamsen, Eastern Kentucky
Jamaine Coleman, Eastern Kentucky
Edwin Kurgat, UT Martin
Matthew Edwards, Belmont
Fredrick Kanda, Eastern Kentucky
Thomas Koringo, Eastern Kentucky

Women's Awards
Athlete of the Year: Charlotte Imer, Eastern Kentucky
Athlete of the Championship: Ann Aspian, UT Martin
Coach of the Year: Rick Erdmann, Eastern Kentucky
Freshman of the Year: Lilian Jeptoo Kiborus

All-OVC First Team
Ann Asipan, UT Martin
Charlotte Imer, Eastern Kentucky
Vallery Korir, Murray State
Lilian Jeptoo Kiborus, Eastern Kentucky
Luisa Boschan, Eastern Kentucky
Micayla Rennick, Tennessee Tech
Megan Parks, Southeast Missouri

All-OVC Second Team
Haley Yost, Eastern Kentucky
Ruth Garippo, Eastern Illinois
Gladys Cheruiyot, Eastern Kentucky
Hannah Denton, Belmont
Maria Baldwin, Eastern Illinois
Kaitlyn Shea, Southeast Missouri
Ciara Scott, Eastern Kentucky