MOREHEAD, Ky. — It has been three years since Morehead State put a runner on the podium at the Ohio Valley Conference Cross Country Championship, but that streak was broken on Saturday in Cookeville, Tenn., as
Garrett Watts placed sixth in the 8K event on the course at the Putnam County Sports Complex.
The sophomore covered the distance in 25:24.2. It was the fastest 8K time in his career and landed him on the All-OVC First Team.
"The race unfolded how I expected it to. I knew that there was going to be a large group that would separate themselves after 3K. And I knew that Kyle (Embry) and myself would need to make sure that we were in that pack if we wanted any chance of placing within the top 14," Watts said. "There were three guys that were leading the charge and pushing the pace from the front of the pack. Once those guys broke away, it was a battle between the guys left in the pack to decide who was going to make up the top seven and top 14.
"On the last lap, I made a decisive move to catch the guys ahead of me that seemed to be falling off and to break away from the runners that I was with. I knew that anything could happen in the last 1K of the race, so I had to work hard to finish the race strong," he added. "The course was difficult with all of the turns and unstable footing. I knew that it would be a lot easier to relax and not fight for position early on in the race and I also knew that it would be important to have good positioning going into all of the turns, so I wouldn't get pushed around with everyone bunching up. I broke the race up into the three laps to make it go by faster and give myself an indication of where I needed to be each lap."
Jarrett Mattingly placed eighth in 25:22.3 at the 2019 meet, the last time MSU had a podium finisher. Justin Moakler captured fourth in 24:20.82 to highlight a trio of Eagles in the top 14 of the 2017 race. Watts' result was Morehead State's best since Moakler's 2017 race.
The men's team tallied 159 points to capture seventh for the second straight season. It was a drop of 23 points off last year's score. This fall's total would have placed the Eagles fifth at the 2021 meet.
"I think the team put themselves in the best position possible to place well. I think we put together an incredible solid block of training and a smart race plan. Unfortunately, the chips don't always fall in your favor on race day. That's what makes cross country so difficult. You only get a few chances to prove that you are capable of what you know you are capable of," Watts said. "We didn't perform how we know we can. … I think we put together a solid day, but just came up a little short of where we wanted to be."
Lucy Singleton continued her outstanding sophomore campaign by leading the MSU women on Saturday with a 22nd-place finish. It was the fourth time in five races that she was the first Eagle across the line. Her time of 23:18.0 was a 'pr', bettering her mark from two weeks ago at the Falcon Invite of 23:35.7. Her top previous performance was a 23:31.80 set at the 2021 Evansville Invitational. Last year, she ran a 5K time of 19:06.4 and was 18th. Her only other 6K race was at last November's Southeast Regional in which she was clocked in 23:38.30.
"My strategy was to get out fast the first quarter mile and then to find a pack and keep with them and try and get (into the) top 25. I stuck with that plan the majority of the race," Singleton said. "I went out a little faster my first 1.5 (kilometers) than intended, but it wasn't a huge deal and ended up working towards my advantage.
"The first half of my race I went out fast. I knew that with it being conference, there wasn't going to be a lot of girls so I wanted to find a pack near the front and stay with them as best as I could. The course also had a lot of turns so I knew passing wouldn't be easy, which is why I wanted to get out to the front at the beginning," she continued. "The race was two laps around the same loop, and with all the turns I just kept approaching each one (with) a reset-mentally so I could stay focused. (On) the second lap, I was feeling pretty winded so I just attached to a pack and held on to the finish."
The MSU women dropped a spot from their finish at last year's OVC Championship, by placing in seventh with 186 points. The Eagles claimed sixth in both 2020 and 2021, but were seventh in 2019, and ninth in 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2017.
"I'm really proud of the team's overall performance," Singleton said. "Every one of us have worked so hard this season and it really paid off. We had a couple 'pr's', and even though some of the girls didn't have their best race, we still went out there and did well."
Junior
Kyle Embry nearly joined Watts on the podium after finishing 16th in 25:58.4. Sophomore
Kyler Stewart was 37th in 26:44.6, with sophomore
Justin Bland in 51st in 27:09.7, sophomore
Peyton Fairchild in 57th in 27:24.9, sophomore
Ethan Vance in 66th in 27:56.0, junior
Jarrett Forrest in 71st in 28:08.0 and sixth-year runner
Josh Grogan in 78th in 28:44.1. Sophomore
Jacob Vogelpohl dropped out after the 3.6-mile mark and did not finish.
The Eagles competed in the meet without a coach. Head coach
Clay Dixon left the morning of the races to be home with his wife, who was giving birth to their first child, and assistant coach
Charles Pruitt was sick and did not travel.
Not having a coach was a different experience, but the athletes adjusted to it.
"I approached the race as any other race with my coaches there. I didn't let my mind go into it that our coaches weren't able to be there to shout time and place," Singleton said. "We had a lot of support from parents, teammates, our (deputy) athletic director Richard Fletcher, and other Morehead (State) fans throughout the race that helped encourage us and keep us focused. I think a lot of us older girls stepped up to give words of encouragement and a game plan since our coaches weren't able to do so."
"This is fortunately a sport where on competition day a coach isn't extremely necessary. We have already done all of the work and we all know exactly what needs to be done. It is just up to us to do it. It's always beneficial to have a coach there though. It keeps you from worrying about all of the little things that need to happen behind the scenes," Watts said. "However, I think our team handled it incredibly well and I am very proud of them for putting aside all of our unfortunate circumstances and focusing on what we have been training for since June, or in my case since January."
Southern Indiana senior Noah Hufnagel won the men's meet by more than 10 seconds in a time of 24:37.2
Two-time defending champ, Eastern Illinois retained the title after edging UT Martin by two points (65 to 67). Southern Indiana was third with 82 points, followed by Tennessee Tech with 101 points, Little Rock with 112 points and Southeast Missouri with 144 points. SIUE claimed eighth with 179 points, with Lindenwood in ninth with 224 points and Tennessee State in 10th with 321 points.
Sophomores
Laikin Tarlton and
Megan Bush were the next two Eagle women across the line, finishing in 33rd and 34th, respectively, with just a tenth of a second separating them. Tarlton recorded a 23:53.2, with Bush at 23:53.3. Freshman
Christiana Brittian was 56th in 24:48.9, classmate
Abby Taylor was 60th in 25:01.7, sophomore
Cloe Copas was 64th in 25:55.6, with junior
Riliegh Owens in 65th in 25:33.8, freshman
Jennifer Ramirez in 68th in 26:03.5 and sophomore
Isabella Copher in 71st in 26:44.4. Freshman
Kaylyn Holman withdrew after the two-mile mark.
Southern Indiana's Lauren Greiwe snared the individual title after posting a time of 21:36.7 and bettering Eastern Illinois' Kate Bushue by over 19 seconds.
The Panthers swept the top spots on the team podium as EIU's women slipped past Southern Indiana 41 to 42 to capture its first crown since 2011. It marked the first time the same team won both titles since eastern Kentucky did so in 2019. Tennessee Tech was third with 71 points. Southeast Missouri was fourth with 91 points, Little Rock was fifth with 138 points and UT Martin was sixth with 150 points. SIUE (230), Lindenwood (250) and Tennessee State (328) rounded out the field.
Morehead State returns to the course for the NCAA Southeast Regional on Friday, Nov. 11 at Louisville's E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park with an opportunity to earn a bid to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla. The regional meet will start with the women's race at 11 a.m. followed by the men at noon.
