BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – A pair of Eastern Kentucky University cross country runners earned weekly Ohio Valley Conference honors on Tuesday, the league office announced. Sophomore Ben Toroitich was named the adidas OVC Male Runner of the Week while sophomore Ann Eason was named the adidas OVC Co-Female Runner of the Week.
Toroitich led EKU to a ninth-place finish at the talent-laden Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Friday and to a No. 13 national ranking, the highest in program history. The native of Marakwet, Kenya finished 10th out of 316 competitors and covered the 8K course in 26:36. His performance helped the Colonels defeated 12 nationally-ranked teams at the race, including three that were ranked in the top-10 at the time: Wisconsin (No. 1), Portland (No. 6) and Syracuse (No. 10).
Toroitich, who was a second team All-American in the outdoor 3,000-meter steeplechase in the spring, has now been named OVC Runner of the Week twice this fall.
Eason, who shared this week’s honor with Belmont’s Mia Elbon, led the EKU women against a talented field at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday in Louisville. The native of Lexington finished 82nd out of 265 runners, completing the 6K course in a time of 21:26.1.
Eason, who swept the 5,000 meters at the OVC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Championships last year, has now been named OVC Runner of the Week twice in the last three weeks.
Toroitich, Eason and the rest of the EKU cross country teams return to action on Saturday, October 27, at the OVC Championships in Jacksonville, Ala.
