MATTOON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois men's cross country runner
Dustin Hatfield was named the Ohio Valley Conference Male Freshman Runner of the Year on Friday evening as the league held its awards banquet at the Mattoon Country Club. The OVC will hold the 2017 Cross Country Championships on Saturday at the Tom Woodall Panther Trail on the campus of Eastern Illinois University. The men's 8K championship race begins at 9 a.m. followed by the women's 5K race at 10 a.m.
Hatfield made an immediate impact on the EIU men's squad this season winning the season opening EIU Walt Crawford Open with an 8K time of 25:09.03. He was named the OVC Runner of the Week after the opening week. Hatfield would go on to finish as the top Panthers runner in all four meets he competed in during the season. His season best 8K time was 24:35.35 at the Louisville Classic which set the EIU Freshman 8K record.
Gilbert Boit of Tennessee Tech was the men's OVC Runner of the Year. Charlotte Imer of Eastern Kentucky was the women's OVC Runner of the Year with TTU's Purity Sanga claiming OVC Female Freshman of the Year honors.
