At the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, the Eastern women’s team finished third with loaded Eastern Kentucky finishing first and new OVC member Belmont finishing second. The men took second place, with the Eastern Kentucky men taking the top spot.

Belmont sophomore Maria Elbon won the women’s race with a time of 17:24.96 in the 5K. On the men’s side, defending champion Soufiane Bouchikhi of Eastern Kentucky won again with a time of 24:01.75. Six of the top eight men were from Eastern Kentucky, including the top four.

Eastern seniors Olivia Klaus and Britney Whitehead posted the third and fourth best times in program history in the 5K. Senior Stephanie Peisker posted the eighth best time in Eastern women’s history in the 5K.

The women’s 1-5 average time of 17:58 is the fastest time in Eastern history. The women had seven of eight runners post their best lifetime race in the 5K. Also, Eastern placed two women in the top three for the first time ever.

Klaus was the top Eastern runner with a time of 17:30.61, good for second place and a spot on the All-OVC first team. She is the first woman in Eastern history to earn All-OVC honors in all four years. Head coach Erin Howarth said Klaus improved each year she has been at Eastern.

Whitehead finished right behind her with a time of 17:31.08 and third place for first team All-OVC. Peisker earned a spot on the second team All-OVC with a time of 18:00.61 and 13th place.

Senior Erika Ramos finished 20th in her final OVC Championship with a time of 18:16.97. Freshman Kelsey Hardimon had a breakout performance with a time of 18:31.30 for 26th place.

The men also put up a record-breaking performance. The men put up a 58-second spread, the best all year. The 1-5 average of 25:08 was the best in Eastern history since the early ’80s.

“I’m really happy with how everyone stepped up,” junior Danny Delaney said. “Everyone needed to put it together on race day.”

Junior Pablo Ramirez and sophomore Bryce Basting both made the first team All-OVC as they finished fifth and sixth respectively. This is the first time since 2005 Eastern has placed two runners on the All-OVC first team. Ramirez ran a PR of 24:37.43, good for 19th in program history. Basting posted a time of 24:45.36.

Junior Danny Delaney finished on the All-OVC second team for the second straight year with a PR time of 25:12.17 for 14th place. Sophomore Victor Delatorre broke out as the fourth runner with a time of 25:34.05, good for 23rd place. Senior Mike Hesslau posted a PR of 25:35.35, good for 24th place.

The 4-5 split of one second was the best all season for the men, and a defining reason why the team improved over the Bradley Classic. At Bradley, the 4-5 split was 32 seconds.

“As a team, I don’t think we left the course with any regrets,” Howarth said. “Overall I am very excited for how the teams did and how they competed. I’m looking forward to regionals in two weeks where we can truly show that our strength is our strength, going the 6K and 10K distances.”

The Midwest Regional is scheduled for Nov. 9 in Springfield, Mo.

Holden Fuehne can be reached at 581-2812 or hjfuehne@eiu.edu.