Story by Mikayla Marshall, Staff writer

For the first time since 2003, Murray State hosted the OVC Cross-Country Championship at Frances E. Miller Memorial Golf Course Saturday.

The Racer women finished fourth while the men’s team took sixth. Lucas Prather led the team with a 25th overall placement with a time of 26:05 in the 8K race. Brittany Bohn led for the women’s team with a 10th place finish and a time of 18:00, followed by Meagan Smith, who placed 14th with a time of 18:11. Bohn and Smith each finished second-team All-OVC.

“On the men’s side we wanted to finish top half, which we did,” said Head Coach Jenny  Swieton. “We had a lot of guys who were banged up and just went out there and got it done for each other.”

Swieton said she couldn’t be happier with how the race went.

“It’s hard to time it, where your best race is at conference, but they did it,” Swieton said.

The women’s fourth place finish was their best since 2012 and the men’s sixth since 2002. The women’s team was only two points out from third and fifteen points out from second.

Swieton said that while on paper the season for the men looked great and the season for the women looked a little lackluster, the team trained for the OVC Championships and said they were able to show the true athletes they are.

The conference championship was Bohn’s final cross-country conference championship and she said she wanted to leave everything on the course. Bohn tied her best time in the race.

“I trained pretty hard over the summer,” said Bohn. “I was maintaining and trying to stay away from injuries, since I had trained so hard.”

She said she’s proud of the season and couldn’t be happier with her placement. 

“It was super special to host the race and finish on the home course I’ve been working hard on all year,” said Lucas Prather, senior from Mohomet, Illinois. “It was definitely a no regrets race.”

This was Prather’s final race as well and he said he was pleased to finish the season strong. This was his highest placement in an OVC Championship in his college career.

“My goal since coming to Murray has been to place top 25,” said Prather.

As Prather and Bohn wrap up their cross-country careers, their biggest piece of advice for their younger teammates is to enjoy every moment.

Swieton said she is excited for the upcoming track and field season to begin and believes the future looks bright for runners at Murray State.

The Racers will race at the NCAA Regionals in Charlottesville, Virginia Nov. 13.