Not only did the men’s cross country team defend its title as Ohio Valley Conference champions Saturday in Richmond, Ky., but they were joined by the women’s team in making history as Eastern became just the second school in OVC history to sweep the cross country championships.

The men’s team defeated Eastern Kentucky by six points to uphold the crown.

“Eastern Kentucky had a shot to win it, but it was a battle of maroon and blue,” said head coach John McInerney, who repeated as OVC Men’s Coach of the Year while also being named the conference’s women’s coach of the year.

Senior Jason Bialka also defended his individual title, finishing first in 25:10.40 to be named the OVC’s Male Athlete of the Year for the second time.

“It was a much tougher battle than I expected,” Bialka said.

Paul Gilvin, a fifth-year senior from Morehead State, challenged Blaika up front throughout the 8K race on Eastern Kentucky’s hilly course.

“I hadn’t run a five-mile race in a month and the course was very challenging,” Bialka said. “It wasn’t treating my ankle well. I was nervous the whole race.”

Gilvin led nearly the entire course until Bialka surged ahead with 600 meters remaining in the race to finish nine seconds ahead of Gilvin.

“Jay worked hard on the flats and Gilvin did on the uphills,” McInerney said. “He gave Jay his money’s worth. It was a real mature race and I give a lot of credit to Gilvin.

Not only did Bialka earn First Team All-OVC honors, but three other teammates did as well. Senior Josh Vance finished fourth overall as Eastern’s second runner with a time of 24:40 before Andy Derks (6th) and Kyle O’Brien (7th). Dan Mackey completed Eastern’s scoring in 13th place to earn second team honors. Adam Mariott finished just behind Mackey in 14th place to also earn Second Team All-OVC honors.

“Josh wasn’t an accident,” McInerney said. “Being a senior, we talked about it. He had an injury just before the conference meet last year and of all the guys who were motivated, he certainly was.

“If I told someone in August we wouldn’t win the OVC without Josh Vance, they would have laughed. I’m just thrilled for him.”

O’Brien, who has been Eastern’s second man throughout the season, continued to battle an IT band injury and faced difficulty on the hilly course.

Now Eastern will have the weekend off to prepare for the regional race Nov. 10 in Carbondale, and this conference win will provide the fuel to attempt an NCAA national qualification.

“This was a real good test for us,” McInerney said. “We had a great battle. Just because we ran great last year and returned a bunch of guys from last year, no one was going to hand it to us. We went toe-to-toe with a real good team. It was just what we needed – a good fight.”