ALEXIS GRANDYS MAKES HISTORY BY BEING NAMED OVC CROSS COUNTRY ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
11/1/2019 7:15:00 PM | Women's Cross Country
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Junior University of Tennessee at Martin standout Alexis Grandys made history by becoming the first Skyhawk (male or female) to be named Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Athlete of the Year in a vote of league head coaches.
Hailing from Yorkville, Ill., Grandys has been one of the best runners in the region while earning a trio of OVC Runner of the Week honors in 2019. Her first came on September 17 after taking first place at the SIUE John Flamer Invitational (on the course Saturday's OVC Championship will be contested). She posted a PR in the event, running a 5K time of 18:08.0.
Grandys followed that by placing 28th out of 270 runners at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The field for that event included one nationally-ranked and eight regionally-ranked squads. She covered the 5K course in 17:22.9, which is the second-best 5K time in the OVC this season (just 0.78 behind the best time).
She arguably saved her best for last in the regular season by shattering her previous 6K PR by nearly two minutes at the Bradley Pink Classic. The junior ran 21:19.3, the fastest 6K time in the OVC in 2019, to place seventh out of 180 competitors.
"Alexis is a truly great student-athlete," UT Martin head coach Kevin Mangan said. "We always have high expectations for our athletes to take care of their business outside of the sport and Alexis really thrives at balancing the rigors of a pre-vet education with the challenges of excelling as an athlete. It has been awesome to see her be smart and diligently improve herself as a runner. She has been emblematic of our whole team who, starting this past track season, has taken a big step forward from where we were last fall. Her and the rest of our team, both women and men, have made this season great so far, this is the most fun I've had coaching. We look forward to watching Alexis lead the way for our team as we try to reach new heights the rest of this season and beyond, starting tomorrow on a cold Illinois morning, which she'll absolutely love."
Grandys and the Skyhawks will look to make waves at the OVC Cross Country Championship which is slated to be ran on Saturday, Nov. 2. The men's 8k is scheduled for 9 a.m. with the women's 5k to follow at 10 a.m.
Hailing from Yorkville, Ill., Grandys has been one of the best runners in the region while earning a trio of OVC Runner of the Week honors in 2019. Her first came on September 17 after taking first place at the SIUE John Flamer Invitational (on the course Saturday's OVC Championship will be contested). She posted a PR in the event, running a 5K time of 18:08.0.
Grandys followed that by placing 28th out of 270 runners at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The field for that event included one nationally-ranked and eight regionally-ranked squads. She covered the 5K course in 17:22.9, which is the second-best 5K time in the OVC this season (just 0.78 behind the best time).
She arguably saved her best for last in the regular season by shattering her previous 6K PR by nearly two minutes at the Bradley Pink Classic. The junior ran 21:19.3, the fastest 6K time in the OVC in 2019, to place seventh out of 180 competitors.
"Alexis is a truly great student-athlete," UT Martin head coach Kevin Mangan said. "We always have high expectations for our athletes to take care of their business outside of the sport and Alexis really thrives at balancing the rigors of a pre-vet education with the challenges of excelling as an athlete. It has been awesome to see her be smart and diligently improve herself as a runner. She has been emblematic of our whole team who, starting this past track season, has taken a big step forward from where we were last fall. Her and the rest of our team, both women and men, have made this season great so far, this is the most fun I've had coaching. We look forward to watching Alexis lead the way for our team as we try to reach new heights the rest of this season and beyond, starting tomorrow on a cold Illinois morning, which she'll absolutely love."
Grandys and the Skyhawks will look to make waves at the OVC Cross Country Championship which is slated to be ran on Saturday, Nov. 2. The men's 8k is scheduled for 9 a.m. with the women's 5k to follow at 10 a.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 3, Episode 11
Tuesday, November 04
OVC Cross Country Championship w/ Luke Johnson
Friday, October 31
OVC Cross Country Championship w/ Jolyta Fuller
Friday, October 31
OVC Cross Country Championship w/ Maggie Roy
Friday, October 31