Arnold, Gingerich Sweep OVC Athlete Awards

Brentwood, Tenn. -- Men from Southeast Missouri swept the male track and field postseason awards as Chris Gill earned this year’s Male Track Athlete of the Year and Brandon Colbert earned Field Athlete of the Year honors. Eastern Illinois women swept the female awards asMegan Gingerich was honored as Track Athlete of the Year andKandace Arnold was awarded Field Athlete of the Year. 

Eastern Kentucky’s Soufiane Bouchiki was named male Freshman Athlete of the Year and Jacksonville State’s Elizabeth Bondand SEMO’s Jerika Lewis shared female Freshman Co-Athletes of the Year. 

The 2010 track and field postseason awards were announced in conjunction with the OVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships set to start today at 1 p.m. The event is hosted by Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn., and is the first Track and Field Championships ever hosted by the Golden Eagles. 

Gill, a senior from O’Fallon, Mo., was also named Track Athlete of the Week April 20 and Co-Track Athlete of the Week April 27. He owns the top time in the conference in the 400 meters at 47.64 that ranks eighth on SEMO’s all-time charts. 

Colbert, also the 2009 Field Athlete of the Year out of Troy, Mo., was named OVC Field Athlete of the Week four times this season. The senior has OVC best marks in the shot put (56’ 8.75”) and discus (175’ 0”) and is second on the OVC best list in the hammer throw (194’ 7”). 

Gingerich was honored this season for her performance in the 800 meter. The sophomore from Arthur, Ill. has the OVC best time (2:07.55) and is ranked 30th nationally and second all-time at EIU. She was also named Female Track Athlete of the Week April 13. 

Arnold has had a decorated college career and heads into her final OVC Outdoor Championship with the OVC best distances in the shot put (52’1.75”), hammer throw (171’1”) and is second on that list in the discus with a toss of 158’8”. The senior of Evergreen Park, Ill., won the OVC discus champioionship in 2008 and the shot put in 2007 and 2008. She also earned Field Athlete of the Week March 30 and April 6.

Bouchiki, also this year’s Indoor Freshman of the year is atop the OVC best list in the 5,000 meters (14:01.71). He is coming off an impressive performance at the prestigious Penn Relays last weekend where he finished second by just .2 seconds in the event, earning him Co-Track Athlete of the Week honors that week. Out of Antwerp, Belgium, he owns the top conference time by nearly 40 seconds and has the second fastest time in EKU history. 

Female Co-Freshman of the Year Bond, of Marietta, Ga., qualified for the USA Track and Field National Championships for her performance in the 400 meters at the Ole Miss Invitational April 11. She ran a 55.80 which is second best on the OVC best list. 

Lewis, the Richton Park, Ill., native, has the fourth-best time in the OVC in the 400 (56.56) and third best time in the 200 (24.70). She also competes in the 4x400-meter relay that ranks second in conference.