PEORIA, ILL - Junior Tonya Nero and senior Irene Kosgei finished third and fourth in the women's individual race to lead the Wichita State University women's cross country team to its fifth straight conference crown at the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference cross country championships.

The WSU men (213 pts.) finished seventh overall with junior Marius Sava placing 24th as the top individual runner. Sava finished the 8K course in a time of 27:37.

"We learned a lot from the men's race and carried that over into the women's race," head coach Marc Burns said following the meet. "It was hard for the guys to make moves and the conditions were just brutal on everyone. The poor course conditions for the guys in the first race really bogged them down. On the women's side, the seniors really came out today and Irene (Kosgei) showed what type of talent she has. One-through-five we were able to get the job done and everyone else just fed off each other."

Indiana State won the men's title with 32 points while Southern Illinois was only a point back in second place (33). Illinois State (74 pts.) rounded out the top three. Scott Krapf of Illinois State was the top male runner and claimed all-conference accolades as he ran a time of 25:47.

Illinois State (86 pts.) and host Bradley (93 pts.) came in behind the Shockers (43 pts.) in the women's team race in second and third place, respectively. Terry Phillips (18:32) of Missouri State and Nicole Benson (18:40) of Bradley were the two female runners who finished just ahead of Nero and Kosgei in the women's 5K individual race.

Nero (18:45) and Kosgei (18:54) were followed by teammate Leah Thompson in sixth place. Thompson crossed the finishing line in a time of 18:57 to give the Shockers three runners who finished in the top 10.

Seniors Rachel York and Olivia Martinez, competing in their last conference meet, broke into the top 20 with York coming in 13th place in a time of 19:27 with Martinez clocking in at 19:39 (17th).

"When you set the tone up front it gets the ball rolling for a big race. Rachel and Olivia were able to build on the momentum from the girls ahead of them and push through and give us a big performance."

On the men's side, sophomore Trace Kendrick came in 46th place in a time of 28:35 and was paced closely by teammate Scott Ufford who finished in 48th place (28:38). Josh Richardson was 50th for WSU (28:47) while Jake Stecklein came in 55th place (28:58).

"We're better than what we showed today in the men's race. We just need to continue to work hard and build a stronger team for next year so we can compete with the big boys in this conference for a title."

Men's Athlete of the Year: Scott Krapf, Illinois State

Women's Athlete of the Year: Terry Phillips, Missouri State

Men's Coach of the Year: John McNichols, Indiana State

Women's Coach of the Year: Marc Burns, Wichita State