RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University track and field team will travel to Nashville this weekend to compete at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Gentry Center on Tennessee State’s campus.

Both teams will be seeking their fifth indoor championships since 1984. Several current members of the men’s team won an indoor championship in 2008 (which took place at the Gentry Center); however, the women’s team last won an OVC indoor title in 1999.

The women’s team is led by sophomore sprinter Diamond Benjamin. Benjamin was recently named the OVC Indoor Track Co-Female Athlete of the Year and she leads the conference with a 55 meters time of 7.03 and is second in the conference with a 200 meters time.

Benjamin has been named the OVC Female Track Athlete of the Week twice this winter.

The Washington D.C. native won the 60 meters at the indoor championships last year with a meet-record time of 7.55. She was one of only two athletes to break a meet record that day.

Another sophomore, Lutisha Bowen, has also run well for EKU this season. The versatile Bowen is third in the conference in the 55-meter hurdles (8.18), fifth in the 200 meters (25.25) and sixth in the 55 meters (7.23).

The women’s team will also lean heavily on its distance crew this weekend as junior Katherine Pagano is second in the OVC in the 3,000 meters (10:12.77) and fifth in the mile (5:06.65) while other runners – juniors Lydia Kosgei and Sylvia Bundotich and sophomore Danielle Mason – are ranked in the top ten of both events.

A slew of freshmen have also emerged as contributors on the women’s team. Picoty Leitich was recently named the OVC Indoor Track Co-Female Freshman of the Year as she is currently second in the conference in the mile with a time of 5:03.84 and fourth in the conference in the 800 meters with a time of 2:15.78. Bianca Forbes, meanwhile, is first in the OVC in the 400 meters with a school-record time of 55.55 and DanHeisha Harding is second in the conference with a 55-meter hurdles time of 8.08.

On the men’s side, the distance crew leads the way as seniors Stanley Mugo and Chrisopher Rengifo will try to end their indoor careers on a high note.

Rengifo was named the OVC Track Athlete of the Week on Feb. 2 and he currently has the fourth fastest mile time (4:16.26) and the fifth fastest 800 meters time (1:54.01) in the conference. Mugo has yet to run this season.

Sophomore David Mutuse, meanwhile, is second in the conference in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:38.90 while freshman Soufiane Bouchikhi, who was recently named the OVC Indoor Track Co-Male Freshman of the Year, is second in the mile with a time of 4:11.20.

Junior Shannon Davis leads the men’s sprint teams. The former OVC indoor champion is currently fifth in the conference in the 55 meters (6.52) while sophomore Gerry Cooper is eighth in the 200 meters (22.51) and junior Kristopher Hawkins is eighth in the 400 meters (49.76).

Competition will get underway around 2:00 p.m. on Friday and will end on Saturday afternoon.

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