Friday, October 31
Charleston, Ill.
9 a.m.
UT Martin
vs
OVC Championship
Skyhawks Enjoy Historic Day At OVC Championships; Johnson and Men’s Team Capture Titles
10/31/2025 4:11:00 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country
CHARLESTON, Ill- It was a monumental day on the campus of Eastern Illinois for the University of Tennessee at Martin cross country team. The men's group brought home the program's first Ohio Valley Conference championship while Luke Johnson won the school's first individual title since 2017. The women's team captured their first all-conference nod since 2023 and notched four personal bests.
It was a thrilling win to clinch the championship for the Skyhawks who took home the trophy via a 3-2 win in a tiebreaker over Southern Indiana after totaling 62 points. The UT Martin women finished in seventh with two top-25 finishers.
Johnson became the first member of the men's team to claim the Athlete of the Championship title since 2017 when Olympian Edwin Kurgat accomplished the same feat at Eastern Illinois just eight years prior. The redshirt junior beat the field by nearly four seconds after clocking a time of 24:18.88. which also earned him All-OVC first team honors for the first time in his career.
Angus Monro was close behind his teammate and tallied a fourth place finish on a PR of 24:28.67 which helped him capture All-OVC first team accolades (back-to-back all-conference performances). Keagan Enicks (14th) made it two years in a row with All-OVC honors after the sophomore nailed a time of 24:55.42. David Stukey (21st) ran a personal best time of 25:07.30 while Will Douglas' mark of 25:10.95 (22nd) capped off the championship scoring five for the Skyhawks. After the meet concluded, assistant coach Anthony Palacio was named OVC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year (first time in program history).
After falling short of all-conference honors for the past two seasons, senior Maggie Roy broke through and was named to the All-OVC second team following her PR in the 6k of 21:57.79 (12th place). Roy becomes the first member of the women's team to claim all-conference accolades since Brooke Skoog in 2023.
Danielle Mudd (22nd place) established a PR from a time of 22:18.93 while senior Gabby Brown ran a personal best time of 23:09.78. Reese Settle got back into the scoring five after she crossed the finish line at 23:17.60, and freshman Charlotte Cones notched a PR of 23:41.07.
"Very happy for everyone, everyone did what they needed to" Palacio said. "There was no 'hero ball' it was just beating the person in front of you. We all do it together, we do the right things, we train the right way, the culture of the program is we don't settle so we're excited to see what there is going forward."
"It was a wonderful day," head coach Jolyta Fuller said. "This course was very unique, but they were able to come out with great performances, and I love that for them. We just said, 'Keep running your race and doing your thing' and they did exactly what we asked them to do. They raced with all they had and didn't leave any regrets so that's all I'm looking for."
The Skyhawks will now prepare for the NCAA South Regionals in Huntsville, Ala. on Nov. 14.
It was a thrilling win to clinch the championship for the Skyhawks who took home the trophy via a 3-2 win in a tiebreaker over Southern Indiana after totaling 62 points. The UT Martin women finished in seventh with two top-25 finishers.
Johnson became the first member of the men's team to claim the Athlete of the Championship title since 2017 when Olympian Edwin Kurgat accomplished the same feat at Eastern Illinois just eight years prior. The redshirt junior beat the field by nearly four seconds after clocking a time of 24:18.88. which also earned him All-OVC first team honors for the first time in his career.
Angus Monro was close behind his teammate and tallied a fourth place finish on a PR of 24:28.67 which helped him capture All-OVC first team accolades (back-to-back all-conference performances). Keagan Enicks (14th) made it two years in a row with All-OVC honors after the sophomore nailed a time of 24:55.42. David Stukey (21st) ran a personal best time of 25:07.30 while Will Douglas' mark of 25:10.95 (22nd) capped off the championship scoring five for the Skyhawks. After the meet concluded, assistant coach Anthony Palacio was named OVC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year (first time in program history).
After falling short of all-conference honors for the past two seasons, senior Maggie Roy broke through and was named to the All-OVC second team following her PR in the 6k of 21:57.79 (12th place). Roy becomes the first member of the women's team to claim all-conference accolades since Brooke Skoog in 2023.
Danielle Mudd (22nd place) established a PR from a time of 22:18.93 while senior Gabby Brown ran a personal best time of 23:09.78. Reese Settle got back into the scoring five after she crossed the finish line at 23:17.60, and freshman Charlotte Cones notched a PR of 23:41.07.
"Very happy for everyone, everyone did what they needed to" Palacio said. "There was no 'hero ball' it was just beating the person in front of you. We all do it together, we do the right things, we train the right way, the culture of the program is we don't settle so we're excited to see what there is going forward."
"It was a wonderful day," head coach Jolyta Fuller said. "This course was very unique, but they were able to come out with great performances, and I love that for them. We just said, 'Keep running your race and doing your thing' and they did exactly what we asked them to do. They raced with all they had and didn't leave any regrets so that's all I'm looking for."
The Skyhawks will now prepare for the NCAA South Regionals in Huntsville, Ala. on Nov. 14.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Women's Cross Country
/ Men's Cross Country
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
OVC Cross Country Championship w/ Anthony Palacio
Friday, October 31