By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin cross country program recorded a new program standard at the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championships as the men raced to a runner-up finish while the women’s squad came in seventh.
UT Martin used its experience at the Putnam County Sports Complex to its advantage on Saturday morning after the men’s squad previously won the Golden Eagle Invitational on the same course earlier this season. With some familiarity in their pocket, the men’s team posted their best finish at the OVC Championships in program history with a runner-up performance while a young women’s squad came in seventh.
The Skyhawks were rewarded for their impressive performances as they earned three All-OVC honors. Sophomore Will Cahill led UT Martin with a seventh place finish to earned All-OVC first team honors while George Payne and Luke McNair garnered second team medallions.
UT Martin’s women were up first on the course as the OVC Championship was stretched out to 6k for the first time. Sophomore Lydia Tankersley narrowly missed out on All-OVC honors after leading the Skyhawks with a 17th place finish at 23:03.4 for a new personal-record. Trailing behind her was junior Lilia Alvarez with a time of 23:36.6 to finish 26th overall.
The next cluster of finishers in the scoring group saw newcomer Cierra Nord come in 31st at 23:49.0 while Maggie Roy (24:03.0) and Rita Eimer (24:05.4) came in 38th and 41st, respectively.
Once the competition switched to the men’s race, the Skyhawks were ready to go as the entire scoring group finished in the top-20. Cahill came out of the second cluster of competitors to finish seventh overall with a time of 25:32.5 and become just the seventh athlete in program history to earn All-OVC first team honors. Meanwhile, Payne (25:39.3, 11th) and McNair (25:42.6, 12th) finished back-to-back to garner second team recognitions.
The scoring group was capped off with another pair of back-to-back finishes as recently named OVC Freshman of the Year Luke Johnson came in 18th at 26:05.3 while newcomer Jack Blyth finished 19th at 26:09.1 in their first OVC Championship opportunities.
UT Martin now sets its sights on the NCAA South Regional Championships to be contested in Huntsville, Ala. on Friday, Nov. 11.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information