CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Eastern Kentucky University's James Sugira has been voted the Ohio Valley Confrence Male Cross Country Runner of the Year, the league announced at its postseason banquet on Friday night.
 
Lilian Ndorobo, meanwhile, was voted the OVC Co-Female Freshman of the Year.
 
Sugira, a redshirt freshman from Kigali, Rwanda, exploded onto the national scene this season. He announced his arrival by cruising to victory at Vanderbilt's Commodore Classic on September 15, clocking an 8K time of 24:08.2 and beating his nearest competitor by nearly 30 seconds. Two weeks later, he ran in the lead pack at the loaded Wisconsin Nuttycombe Invitational, eventually taking fourth out of some of the top runners in the country with an 8K time of 23:22.3. On October 12, he won Penn State's National Open with a 5.2-mile time of 24:40.
 
Sugira has been named OVC Male Runner of the Week every time he has competed this season. His 8K time of 23:22.3 is the fastest in the conference by a large margin.
 
His performances have led EKU to a No. 19 national ranking, heading into the posteason.
 
Sugira is currently listed at No. 7 in Flotrack's national individual rankings.
 
It is the 31^st time an EKU man has earned OVC Cross Country Runner of the Year honors.
 
Ndorobo has come on strong late in the season for the EKU women. The native of Nairobi, Kenya finished fifth on the team and 38^th overall at the Greater Louisville Classic on September 29 with a 5K time of 17:44.9. On October 12, she finished third on the team at Penn State's National Open with a 6K time of 21:43. That is the sixth-fastest 6K time in the conference this season.
 
Ndorobo's performances this season have helped the EKU women ascend to No. 3 in the NCAA Southeast Region rankings.
 
She is the fifth EKU woman to be named OVC Cross Country Freshman of the Year. Her teammate, Lilian Jeptoo Kiborus, earned the honor in 2016.
 
Sugira, Ndorobo and the EKU cross country teams will compete for OVC titles on Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. ET.