BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The Eastern Kentucky University men’s indoor track and field team was picked to finish second in the OVC while the women’s team was picked to finish third in a preseason poll of conference head coaches, the league office announced on Thursday.

The men’s team finished third at last year’s indoor championships while the women’s team took fifth place.

The men’s team will be led by reigning Co-OVC Male Track and Field Athlete of the Year Stanley Mugo, as well as slew of other distance runners including Elkana Kurgat, Chris Rengifo and Evans Kiptoo. Junior college transfer Wesley Ruttoh, who won the OVC Cross Country Championship in the fall, will make his anticipated track and field debut this spring.

Also returning for the men’s team is sprinter Shannon Davis. Davis was the 2008 OVC Male Freshman of the Year after winning conference titles in the 100 meters and 200 meters, and he added to his repertoire last year by winning a conference title in the 400 meters.

The women’s team will be led by returning conference champions Katherine Pagano and Diamond Benjamin.

Pagano won the 10,000 meters at the 2009 conference championships with a time of 32:21.07. Benjamin, meanwhile, was named the OVC Female Freshman of the Year after winning the 60 meters at the indoor championships with a meet-record time of 7.55.

Other contributors on the women’s team in 2010 will be 2009 OVC Cross Country Champion Pictoty Leitich as well as other distance runners Sylvia Bundotich, Ashli Joseph and Danielle Mason, sprinter Lutisha Bowen and hurdlers Jasmyn Norris and Tashana Johnson.

Eastern Illinois earned three of four first place votes for nine points on the men’s side. The Panthers have won 11 of the past 13 men’s championships dating back to 1997. EKU, the 2008 champion, finished second in the poll with one first place vote for six points. Southwest Missouri also earned six points in the vote while Tennessee State rounded out the list with three points

In the women’s side, Eastern Illinois earned six first place votes for 41 points, while Southeast Missouri finished with two first place votes for 38 points. Eastern Illinois also won the women’s championship in 2007. Southeast Missouri won the championship from 2004-2006 but has yet to win it since. EKU earned 30 points to finish third in the voting followed by Murray State, Tennessee State, Austin Peay, Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech respectively.

The track and field Colonels begin the indoor season at the University of Kentucky Invitational from Jan. 15-16.

The 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Indoor Championships will be held Feb. 26-27 at Tennessee State’s Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn.