The University of Tennessee at Martin cross country teams finish seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships this past weekend at Morehead, Ky.

The women’s team placed seventh in the 5K championship while Eastern Kentucky claimed the conference title.

UT Martin’s top runners were Shalaine Phaup and Angelina Gracian. Phaup placed 15 with a time of 19:04, falling one place short of earning all-conference honors. Gracian was second for UT Martin and 32 overall with a time of 19:49.

“Michelle McCormick showed a lot of guts running, 20:52 with a stress fracture in her lower leg,” said Jason McKinney, UT Martin cross country coach,.

The UT Martin men’s team also made improvements from a year ago with a seventh-place finish, which is the highest team finish since 1995. Eastern Illinois won the men’s meet.

Robby Clapper was UT Martin’s team leader, finishing 34 with a personal best time of 27:26. Darrell Lewis was second and 38 overall with his time of 27:41. He improved his time from a year ago by a minute and a half.

UT Martin newcomers Derrick Kenwright, Ryan Wilson, Philip Gordon and Zac Hedrick also helped out the team.

“Overall, I am very pleased with how the team fared,” McKinney said. “I am excited that we have only freshmen and sophomores on the men’s side, and we are only losing one runner on the women’s side.

The Skyhawk teams return to action Nov. 16 when they compete in the district championships in Knoxville.