RICHMOND, Ky. - Austin Peay State University men's cross country team was unable to maintain its recent success, finishing eighth at the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships, Saturday, at the Arlington Club.

Senior Boniface Yator's 30th-place finish paced the Governors, as he finished the eight-kilometer race in a time of 27:16.59,  nearly two seconds ahead of junior Geofrey Kosgei who finished the race in 32nd-place.

"Geofrey (Kosgei) and Boniface (Yator) were in ninth and 14th going into the last mile but the course ate them up and spit them out," said head coach Doug Molnar. "They were there and had an opportunity. It would have made a huge difference had they finished at the top."

The next Gov across the finish line was Tyler Kepley in 43rd-place (27:49.40). Junior Konner Kessler (53rd, 28:51.04), sophomore Genaro Martinez (54th, 29:06.74), freshman David Frattarelli (63rd, 30:15.99) also competed for the Governors.

Going into the race the other OVC schools knew it would be a difficult task to dethrone nationally-ranked Eastern Kentucky. The Colonels did not disappoint taking home their sixth-straight OVC Championship - with seven of its runners claiming a spot among the top eight and they finished with 18 points.

Second-place Eastern Illinois scored 62 points followed closely by Southeast Missouri (65 points). Morehead State (149), UT Martin (159), Jacksonville State (164) and Tennessee Tech (175) each finished ahead of Austin Peay (201).

The Governors look to regroup and prepare for the NCAA South Regional, Nov. 12, at Harry Pritchett Running Park in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

-AP-