RICHMOND, Ky. – For the second consecutive year, Eastern Kentucky University head cross country coach Rick Erdmann and junior distance runner Soufiane Bouchikhii have earned top honors from the Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Erdmann was named the University Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year while Bouchikhi was named the University Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year at the KTCCCA’s eighth annual awards banquet on Jan. 5.

Erdmann guided the EKU men’s team to its seventh straight Ohio Valley Conference title and second consecutive berth in the NCAA Cross Country Championships this fall. He was also named the USTFCCCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year for the first time in his storied career after the Colonels finished second to Virginia at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships in Charlotte.

Bouchikhi won the NCAA Southeast Region Championships this fall and then earned USTFCCCA cross country All-American honors for the first time in his career. He was also named the OVC Male Cross Country Runner of the Year for the third consecutive season. This winter, Bouchikhi finished second in the Under-23 men’s race at the European Cross Country Championships in Budapest.

Erdmann, Bouchikhi and the rest of the EKU track and field team continues the indoor season the weekend of Jan. 25-26 at the Rod McCravy Memorial Meet in Lexington.