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Men's Results  |  Women's Results  

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Eastern Illinois cross country had six runners earn All-Conference honors on Saturday as the Panthers competed at the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Championships on the campus of SIUE.
 
The EIU women placed second as they challenged perennial favorite Eastern Kentucky in the closest OVC finish since the 2008 season.  EIU scored 60 points and was just six points behind the Colonels.  Belmont was third with 70 points followed by Southeast Missouri in fourth with 109 points.
 
On the men's side the Panthers posted their best finish since the 2011 season as they were third with 74 points behind EKU with 19 points and Belmont with 61 points.  UT Martin placed fourth with a 114 points.
 
Grace Rowan led the EIU women's charge as she finished second in the race to earn first team All-OVC honors.  Rowan posted a time of 17:52.1 on the 5K course as she had the best finish for a Panther female runner at the OVC Championships since Olivia Klaus placed second at the 2012 meet.
 
Avani Flanagan was seventh in the meet with a time of 18:05.7 to earn first team honors.  Last season Rowan and Flanagan both earned second team All-OVC honors as they finished 13th and 14th at the 2018 championships.  
 
Shelby Siltman was the third EIU women's runner to earn All-OVC honors as her 12th place finish locked up second team honors with a time of 18:23.4.  EIU head coach Erin Howarth was named the OVC Women's Cross Country of the Year, marking the second time she has won the award in her EIU career.
 
On the men's side Jaime Marcos ran with the top pack most of the meet as he finished seventh on the 8K course to earn first team All-OVC.  Marcos posted a time of 25:11.4.
 
Tyler Lay and Franky Romano then added second team honors for the Panthers squad.  Lay was 11th with a time of 25:25.6 while Romano was 13th with a time of 25:30.6. 
 
Maggie McPherson and Helena Keenan rounded out the top five EIU scored runners on the women's side with Megan Adams just behind Keenan as the sixth Panthers finisher.  McPherson was 18th with a time of 18:41.3.  Keenan was 21st with a time of 18:46.8.  Adams was 22nd with a time of 18:47.9. 
 
Adam Swanson and David Thompson paced each other most of the race for the EIU men to cross as the fourth and fifth Panthers scored runners.  Andrew Pilat and Nick Oakley trailed just behind that first pair.  Swanson was 23rd with a time of 25:39.5.  Thompson was 24th with a time of 25:42.5.  Pilat was 28th with a time of 25:50.9 while Oakley was 29th with a time of 25:56.6. 
 
EIU's other men's competitors in the championship race included Joe Carter (39th), Trevor Murphy (49th) and Austin Earp (50th). 
 
EIU's other women's competitors in the championship race were Abby Fisher (27th), Sarah Carr (28th), Jocelyne Mendoza (45th) and Katie Springer (51st).
 
The Panthers return to action on Nov. 15 at the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted by Oklahoma State.