EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Track & Field finished its inaugural year of Division I by scoring respective eighth-place finishes at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships Saturday.
Seniors Noah Hufnagel (Santa Claus, Indiana) and Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) once again highlighted the Screaming Eagles’ efforts on the final day of competition as the duo swept the men’s and women’s 5,000-meter titles to cap off their collegiate careers.
Hufnagel was named the OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year in addition to the OVC Male Athlete of the Championships after claiming the 10,000 meter title Thursday night. He finished the 2022-23 academic year with four OVC titles, including the cross country championship last fall and the 3,000-meter title during the OVC Indoor Championships in February—Hufnagel also was second in the 5,000 meters at the OVC Indoor Championships.
The 2022 OVC Athlete of the Championships for cross country finished Saturday’s 5,000-meter race in 14 minutes, 33.41 seconds and accounted for 20 of USI’s 22 team points. Junior Mitchell Hopf (Santa Claus, Indiana) contributed to the Eagles’ scoring with an eighth-place finish in the 5,000 meters Saturday, while the Eagles scored their final point with an eighth-place showing in the 4×400-meter relay.
Martin claimed her second OVC title in as many days Saturday as she finished the women’s 5,000 meters in 17:30.63 less than 24 hours after posting a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her victories accounted for 20 of the Eagles’ 45 team points on the weekend.
Junior Aubrey Swart (Noblesville, Indiana), who was sixth in the 10,000 meters Thursday, accounted for six of those points as she added another sixth-place finish in the 5,000 meters Saturday. Fellow classmate McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana), who was second in the steeplechase Friday, rounded out the Eagles’ scoring in the 5,000 meters with an eighth-place finish.
USI also got a huge boost from junior Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) and freshman Emily Rempe (Owensboro, Kentucky) in the 800 meters. Comastri was third in the finals Saturday as she broke her own school-record in the event with a time of 2:11.98. A day after breaking her own freshman record in the 800 meters, Rempe carded a fifth-place finish with a time of 2:13.08.
With a year of Division I experience under their belts, the Eagles turn their attention to the fall and the 2023 cross country season, which figures to open in early September.
2023 OVC Outdoor Track & Field Award Winners
Male Track Athlete of the Year:Â Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Male Field Athlete of the Year:Â Dylan Clark, Southeast Missouri
Male Freshman of the Year:Â Khalid White, UT Martin
Male Athlete of the Championship:Â Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Men’s Coach of the Year:Â Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
Female Track Athlete of the Year:Â Breanna Miles, Southeast Missouri
Female Field Athlete of the Year:Â Gabby Ayetifio, Little Rock; Savannah Sullivan, SIUE
Female Freshman of the Year:Â Clara Billing, Southeast Missouri; Serenity Harry, Tennessee State
Female Athlete of the Championship:Â Gabby Ayetifio, Little Rock
Women’s Coach of the Year:Â Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
