Click here for a complete list of winners!

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Eastern Kentucky University head cross country coach Rick Erdmann and sophomore distance runner Soufiane Bouchikhi were honored at the seventh annual Kentucky Association of USATF and Kentucky Track and Cross Country Coaches Association (KTCCCA) awards banquet last Saturday.

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.

Erdmann capped an already-legendary career this fall by leading the EKU men’s cross country team to an automatic berth in the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the first time in program history. Erdmann also won his 18th OVC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year award when the OVC men delivered a dominant performance at the OVC Championships to win their sixth consecutive conference title in late October.

Bouchikhi was the top runner on that EKU men’s cross country team all fall. The native of Antwerp, Belgium won the OVC Cross Country Championships and was named the OVC Male Cross Country Runner of the Year for the second consecutive year. He then finished sixth out of 218 runners with a 10K time of 30:05.1 at the Southeast Region Championships to lead the EKU men to their first-ever team berth in the NCAA Championships, and he was named to the All-Southeast Region team for his performance. At the NCAA Championships, Bouchikhi placed 47th out of 252 competitors, missing out on All-American honors by just seven spots.

The EKU track and field team opens the indoor season this weekend at the Kentucky Track and Field Invitational in Lexington.