By Jonathan Caudle, TTU Sports Information
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On a comfortable 66-degree morning on October 29, 2016 in Nashville, Tenn., Tennessee Tech men's cross country freshman Gilbert Boit accomplished a feat that no other Golden Eagle had done previously, he captured Tech's first OVC individual men's cross country title and the first program title since former women's cross country runner Stephanie Place secured the top-place spot in 2008.
Prior to the OVC championship, Boit had led the Golden Eagles in every meet during the 2016 regular season, which included setting an 8K personal record at the Greater Louisville Classic during the same month on October 1, which was also at that time a school-best time of 23:59.70.
Boit was also recognized with OVC Male Freshman of the Year honors on October 28 at the OVC's annual awards banquet, becoming the first Tech cross country runner to earn the designation since it was first implemented in 2005.
On Saturday morning, Boit paced the Tech men as he bested a field of 90 runners across 12 league teams to break the tape with an impressive 8K time of 24:20.9 and crossing 10 seconds before the conference runner-up from Eastern Kentucky. Boit's impressive run earned him OVC Male Runner of the Championship, All-OVC First Team, and helped lead the Tech men to a fifth-place finish with 139 points, marking the team's best finish since 2009, where the team placed fifth.
Brannon Cheplak placed second for the Golden Eagles, crossing 17th with a time of 25:47.9. Benard Sigei finished third for Tech, placing 20th with a time of 25:52.4. Daniel Williamson crossed fourth for the Purple and Gold to place 43rd in the field with a time of 27:04.3. Rounding out the Golden Eagles scorers was Paul Patterson who came in 61st after crossing the line with a time of 28:04.6. Tech's final finisher was Josua Daughtry who placed 68th with a finishing time of 28:37.2.
Boit's impressive freshman campaign helped lead the Golden Eagles to a berth in the NCAA South Regionals following the OVC Championships, in which the team finished 11th overall out of a field of 21 teams.
Boit cemented his spot in the Tennesee Tech record books, one that has yet to be matched.
Photo by TTU Sports Information
