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Men's Results  |  Women's Results  |  Championships Photo Gallery 

NASHVILLE – Eastern Illinois men's cross country made it back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Championships as the Panther men won the 2021 OVC Cross Country Championship in a tightly contested championship race at the Percy Warner Park in Nashville.

Dustin Hatfield was the men's individual champion winning with an 8K time of 24:31.5.  Hatfield was followed by teammate Jaime Marcos in second with a time of 24:49.1 as the Panthers had six runners earn All-OVC honors.

Lindsey Carlson won the women's individual champion winning with a 5K time of 17:47.9.  Carlson was followed by teammate Kate Bushue who finished in second with a time of 18:15.9.  

The EIU women's team placed third in the meet with 60 points.  Belmont was the women's conference champion with 36 points followed by Tennessee Tech in second with 48 points. 

On the men's side EIU won with 35 points to claim their 9th OVC crown.  Belmont was second with 39 points followed by Tennessee Tech in third with 88 points. 

Following Hatfield and Marcos in the top two spots, EIU had four other runners place in the top 14 to earn All-OVC honors.   Trevor Murphy, Franky Romano, Richie Jacobo and Adam Swanson all earned second team All-OVC honors.  Murphy was ninth with a time of 25:20.3.  Romano was 11th with a time of 25:25.1.  Jacobo was 12th with a time of 25:28.0.  Swanson was 14th with a time of 25:40.1. 

Avani Flanagan was the third finisher for the Panther women earning second team All-OVC honors.  Flanagan was 14th with a time of 18:55.4.  Mackenzie Aldridge and Katie Springer rounded out the EIU scored runners.  Aldridge was 21st with a time of 19:12.10.  Springer was 22nd with a time of 19:13.5. 

Men's Awards
Athlete of the Year: Dustin Hatfield, Eastern Illinois
Athlete of the Championship: Dustin Hatfield, Eastern Illinois
Coach of the Year: Erin Howarth, Eastern Illinois
Freshman of the Year: Miceal McCaul, Tennessee Tech

All-OVC First Team
Dustin Hatfield, Eastern Illinois
Jaime Marcos, Eastern Illinois
Roland Prenzler, SIUE
Kevin Vanderkolk, Belmont
Ben Naeger, Belmont
Luke McNair, UT Martin
Ethan Hammer, Belmont

All-OVC Second Team
Aidan Thompson, Belmont
Trevor Murphy, Eastern Illinois
Dominic Smith, Tennessee Tech
Franky Romano, Eastern Illinois
Richie Jacobo, Eastern Illinois
Miceal McCaul, Tennessee Tech
Adam Swanson, Eastern Illinois

Women's Awards
Athlete of the Year: Lindsey Carlson, Eastern Illinois
Athlete of the Championship: Lindsey Carlson, Eastern Illinois
Coach of the Year: Jeff Langdon, Belmont
Freshman of the Year: Ruby Wyles, Tennessee Tech

All-OVC First Team
Lindsey Carlson, Eastern Illinois 
Kate Bushue, Eastern Illinois
Helen Pacurariu-Nagy, Tennessee Tech
Kaitlyn Vanderkolk, Belmont
Grace Litzinger, Belmont
Brooke Stromsland, Belmont
Amanda Laboy, Tennessee Tech
 
All-OVC Second Team
Katie Flaherty, Belmont
Danielle Wright, Murray State
Rahab Chepkorir, Tennessee Tech
Kassidy Dexheimer, SIUE
Ruby Wyles, Tennessee Tech
Brooke Garter, Belmont
Avani Flanagan, Eastern Illinois