COOKEVILLE, Tenn.- Sophomore Kaitlyn Walker led the women's cross country team at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships on Saturday. Walker was SIUE's top runner in the 6K race with a 23:55 time and 35th overall finish.

Eastern Illinois took home first place honors with 41 points, followed by Southern Indiana (42), Tennessee Tech (71), Southeast Missouri (91), Little Rock (138), UT Martin (150), Morehead State (186), SIUE (230), Lindenwood (250), and Tennessee State (328).

Chessy Nikonowicz (55th/24:45), Alexis Fischer (58th/24:51), Natalia Rodriguez (57th/24:51), Courtney Anthonies (63rd/25:25), Olivia Wolf (69th/26:08), Alexis Edgar (70th/ 26:09), and Ana Keller (72nd/26:52) rounded out the women.

"Our Teams competed tough today at OVC's," said Marcus Evans. "The women we worked well with small packs that stayed in contact to help our overall team score. We are excited about the next opportunity to tough out a 6k."

This year marks the first time the women's race has been run at a 6K distance to align with NCAA Regionals, which will be held Friday, Nov. 11 in Columbia, Mo.