MOREHEAD, Ky. – Eleven Morehead State athletes competed on the first day of the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., but the competition was overshadowed by an unusual circumstance.

The biggest story for the Eagle runners was confusion about the lap count in the distance medley relay which, according to Morehead State coach Clay Dixon, cost MSU points in the team standings.

"Officials miscounted laps in the distance medley relay and a few teams were stopping mid-race," Dixon said. "We were in seventh when that happened, but after our girl stopped, they started racing again."

The Eagle foursome of Riliegh Owens, Sierra Kelley, Mary Alice Thornburg and Laikin Tarlton ended up finishing ninth in the event which is contested in segments of 1200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1600 meters by a different runner.

According to Dixon, with two laps remaining on the final leg, the race official rang the bell to indicate the final lap. Thinking they were finished, the top two teams stopped running after completing the next lap and the rest of the field followed. When the racers realized there was still a lap to go, everyone resumed but confusion reigned with runners uncertain as to how many laps each had completed.

"We were on school-record pace for the DMR, but all that happened," Dixon added.

Still the group's time of 12:45.30 ended up being the second fastest in school history. The MSU record of 12:31.12 was set in 2019.

There was some good news for the Blue and Gold. Grace Lopez in the 60-meter dash (8.28) and Megan Bush in the 5000-meter run (19:14.93) both set personal bests in their respective races.

Most of Wednesday's competition was heats in the sprints.

In the 200-meter dash, Sierra Kelley finished in 27.10, with Dallas Jones in 28.60, Lopez in 28.72, with Tayla Lee in 29.09. In the 400-meter dash, Keana Meriwether crossed the line in 1:04.53, with JD Camacho in 1:05.74, Jones in 1:05.82 and Lee in 1:09.25.

The Eagles best chance to score individual points on Wednesday was in the 800-meter run which featured Lucy Singleton. However, the Eagle freshman's time of 2:17.95 put her just outside of the top eight. Singleton was third in the five-runner first heat. Eastern Illinois' Katie Springer earned the last spot after placing third in her heat in 2:17.48.

None of Wednesday's MSU competitors advanced to Thursday's finals. However, several Eagles will still run, with races scheduled in the mile, 3000-meter run and the 4x400-meter relay. The first events will begin at 9 a.m. CT, with the meet expected to conclude around 4 p.m. CT.

Use the following links to follow the OVC Championship meet live:
Results: http://www.cfpitiming.com/2022_Indoor_Season/OVC_2022/OVC_Indoor_2022.html

Day 2 video broadcast: https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/86b1a704-6187-4c1c-80d6-7ece792563b0?om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults