COOKEVILLE, Tenn.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Cross Country senior Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) became the first runner in program history to capture an NCAA Division I conference title Saturday as he finished first out of 94 competitors to lead the Screaming Eagles to a third-place showing at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship.
Hufnagel completed the eight-kilometer course in 24 minutes, 37.2 seconds, 10 seconds faster than the OVC Male Cross Country Runner of the Year and second-place finisher Dustin Hatfield.
Junior Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) was fourth and joined Hufnagel in earning first-team All-OVC honors. Hopf crossed the finish line in 25:12.6 to claim first-team accolades.
As a team, the Eagles finished with 82 points, 15 behind second-place University of Tennessee Martin and 17 behind first-place Eastern Illinois University.
Sophomore Brady Terry (Philpot, Kentucky) was 20th, while junior Wimach Gilo (Council Bluff, Iowa) and sophomore Dylan Bland (Holland, Indiana) were 28th and 29th, respectively. Freshman Mukal Verma (Palatine, Illinois) and sophomore Joseph Russler (Evansville, Indiana) rounded out the Eagles’ top seven with respective finishes of 47th and 48th.
The Eagles, who are ineligible for the NCAA Division I Regional Championships due to being in the first year of their expected four-year transition period, begin the Indoor Track & Field with the Eastern Illinois Ear Bird December 9 in Charleston, Illinois.
Men’s Awards
Athlete of the Year: Dustin Hatfield, Eastern Illinois
Athlete of the Championship: Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Coach of the Year: Erin Howarth, Eastern Illinois
Freshman of the Year: Luke Johnson, UT Martin
All-OVC First Team
Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Dustin Hatfield, Eastern Illinois
Adam Swanson, Eastern Illinois
Mitchell Hopf, Southern Indiana
Miceal McCaul, Tennessee Tech
Garrett Watts, Morehead State
Will Cahill, UT Martin
All-OVC Second Team
Zach McPhee, Little Rock
Andrew Pilat, Eastern Illinois
Noah Little, Southeast Missouri
George Payne, UT Martin
Luke McNair, UT Martin
Dominic Smith, Tennessee Tech
Andrew Payton, Little Rock
