HOOVERS, Ala. ? Austin Peay State University men and women's cross country teams will be up against the best the conference has to offer this weekend at the Ohio Valley Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships. The event will begin at 9 a.m., Saturday, with the men's 8K, followed by the women's 5K at 10 a.m., at Spain Park Trail in Hoover, Ala.
"This is what we've been focusing on all year," said head coach Doug Molnar. "I'm excited to see how things turn out. We're as healthy as we've been all year and we're ready to go."
On the women's side, defending champion Eastern Kentucky and meet host Samford are the favorites. Samford senior Lauren Blankenship is going for her third OVC individual women's cross country title after missing last year's event due to injury; if she were to win, it would be the fourth consecutive year a Samford runner has won the women's race.
For the Lady Govs, juniors Bertha Castillo and Anna Claire Raines, who finished 11th in this event last year, are expected to lead the team. Freshman Brooke Denny and junior Melissa Nobbs are expected to post strong times to help improve the overall team score. Sophomores Breonna Brown, Kate Gauf and Tracee Gruskiewicz and freshman DJ Shannon will compete for the fifth team scoring spot.
"Castillo and Raines have led us all year, and I look for that to continue," said Molnar. "They should definitely be very close to being all-conference. EKU and Samford have won every women's title since 2002, but I think we have the ability to run with them up front."
In the men's race, Eastern Kentucky will be the overwhelming favorite to win their second straight title. They are led by senior Jacob Korir, who is gunning for his fourth consecutive OVC title. He would join two other Eastern Kentucky alumni, Grant Colehour (1965-68) and John Nganga (1991-94) as the only runners in OVC history to complete that historic feat.
Leading the men for Austin Peay will be junior Tim Hall, who has led the Govs in every race this year. Behind him the Govs will look for juniors Ryne Sexton, Antonio Diaz and Lukas Siska to push towards the front of the pack. Freshman Jordan Payne and senior Jimmy Clark. a recent addition, will need to be strong for the Govs in this meet as well.
"EKU is a tough team, no question about it," said Molnar. "Korir will make a run at the NCAA Championships next month. Tim Hall has led us all year and is primed to make a run at all-conference honors. We're excited this meet is finally here; it's what we've waited all year for."
