EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Cross Country juniors Alex Nolan and Ellie Hall were respectively named the Ohio Valley Conference Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Year in an announcement by the league office Thursday. Freshman Kraedyn Young also was named the OVC Men’s Freshman of the Year.
Nolan is collecting his first-career OVC Athlete of the Year award after an outstanding regular season that saw him earn OVC Runner of the Week honors three times.
The Evansville native has four top 20 finishes this season, including three top 15 placements and a pair of top 10 finishes. He earned his most recent OVC Runner of the Week honor following an 18th-place finish in the Gans Creek Classic Black Invite last month. His career-best eight-kilometer time of 24 minutes, 1.5 seconds, ranks sixth all-time at USI and is the fastest time in the OVC this season by nearly 30 seconds.
This marks the second straight season that the Screaming Eagles’ men have had a runner earn OVC Athlete of the Year honors and the second time in four years that USI’s women have had a student-athlete earn the award.
Brady Terry was the OVC Men’s Athlete of the Year in 2024, while Lauren Greiwe was the OVC Women’s Athlete of the Year in 2022. Additionally, USI’s men also saw Noah Hufnagel earn OVC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year honors in 2023.
Hall also is being awarded with her first-career OVC Runner of the Year award after leading the Screaming Eagles at the 6k distance this season. She has twice been named the OVC Runner of the Week, with the most recent award coming following her sixth-place finish at the Angel Mounds Invitational.
The Ferdinand, Indiana, native owns the fastest 6k time in the conference after posting a time of 20:58.5 at the Gans Creek Classic last month. Her mark ranks eighth all-time at USI.
Young is the second USI men’s runner to earn OVC Freshman of the Year honors as he joins Nolan, who earned the same distinction in 2023.
The North Vernon, Indiana, native has consistently been in the Screaming Eagles’ top five this season and has been USI’s No. 3 runner in the last two meets. His season-best time of 24:44.1 at the Gans Creek Classic last month ranks seventh in the OVC and leads all OVC freshmen this season.
USI looks to defend its men’s and women’s conference titles Friday when it competes at the OVC Championships in Charleston, Illinois. The men’s 8k begins at 9 a.m., while the women’s 6k is slated for a 10 a.m. start.
The Screaming Eagles’ men have been dominating amongst OVC competition this season as they have gone 9-0 against conference schools. They won the OVC title by one point over Eastern Illinois University a year ago and will be toeing the starting line against the Panthers for the first time this season on Friday.
Senior Dominick Beine boosts the Screaming Eagles’ lineup after a 15th-place finish at the Angel Mounds Invitational. Beine has been USI’s No. 2 runner in each of the races he has started in 2025.
USI’s women are looking for their second straight OVC title and are buoyed by the top two runners in the conference in Hall and sophomore Hadessah Austin. Neither runner has lost to another OVC competitor this season.
The Screaming Eagles have faced stiff competition from OVC schools this season, most notably being a Tennessee Tech University team that has gone 2-0 against USI this year.
Getting back junior Zoe Seward from an early season injury and sophomore Abrielle Richard from a health scare that sidelined her for the Angel Mounds Invitational gives USI the depth it will need to make a run at its second straight OVC crown.
