Even though the Panther men’s and women’s teams thrived at the OVC Championship meet last weekend, head coach John McInerney is not yet ready to call it a season.

He knows that the year is not ending but just beginning.

“Winning the OVC was pretty sweet,” McInerney said. “But we still have two more main meets left. The NCAA Regional and the NCAA Championship We have to be ready for those.”

The NCAA Regional will be held at Illinois State on Nov. 16. The Panthers will conclude the season the following week by heading to Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Championship.

Last weekend the men’s team captured its third straight Ohio Valley Conference Championship and its top runner and head coach both received the conference’s highest awards.

In an extremely close meet, the Panthers nipped Eastern Kentucky 28-29 to capture its fifth OVC title in the last seven years.

“We had a few down weeks and we didn’t practice well (before the meet), but we had a huge team effort,” McInerney said.

The Panthers had six of their runners finish in the top 10, and leading the way was OVC Runner of the Year, senior, Kyle O’Brien.

“Kyle ran great,” McInerney said. “He edged the Eastern Kentucky runner (Brent Reiter) by two seconds to win the 8,000 meters.”

Also finishing near the lead were junior Jeff Jonaitis and senior Dan Mackey, who finished third and seventh, respectively.

The Panthers also received surprisingly strong contributions from three freshmen. Jack Stout finished eighth just ahead of Jordan Jackson and Dan Strackeljahn.

“Our veterans led the way and then the three new guys closed the deal,” McInerney said. “To have sixth runners finish in the top 10 was beyond my expectations.”

Not to be lost in the Panthers third straight OVC title was the accomplishment of McInerney.

The Eastern graduate was named OVC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his 11-year tenure as head coach over the weekend.

“It’s an honor that I don’t take lightly, but the guys really earned it for me,” McInerney said. “My team ran well and I benefited from it.”