MOREHEAD, Ky. – Freshman Lucy Singleton highlighted the Morehead State track and field team's performances at Wednesday's opening day of the Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Championship at Roy Stewart Stadium and Hamilton Field on the campus of Murray State University in Murray, Ky.

"I'd love to have everyone in the finals, setting personal bests or scoring points in the 10K," MSU head coach Clay Dixon said. "But that's not the way it is. It was a moderately successful day."

Singleton placed 10th in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:50.25 to earn on of the 12 qualifying spots for Friday's finals. Sophomore Laikin Tarlton finished 13th in the race in 4:56.20, but was more than three seconds out of a berth to the next round. The top time was notched by Southeast Missouri sophomore Taylor Fox, who clocked a 4:45.66 running out of the faster second heat.

Singleton was fourth in her heat, which was won by Eastern Illinois senor Kate Bushue in 4:47.22. Tarlton was two spots behind Singleton in the opening section. There was a total of 21 entries who toed the start line.

"The first heat normally goes out slower and then gets faster in the last lap. Lucy set the tone and Laikin was in the lead pack. With about 400 meters to go, Lucy was sitting in third or fourth place and she knew she was in a good spot to qualify so she just settled in and took it easy. Laikin was in sixth or seventh or so and then she got gapped. Lucy knew she had to finish in the top five and she started to pull up on some girls, but I said to relax," Dixon said. "Laikin had to qualify on time at that point. Down the stretch, she kicked it in and ran down a UT Martin girl who was about 20 meters ahead of her and she was close to catching another girl. She ran a really good race, but was in a bad place at the wrong time and she barely missed out. Last year, she also was 13th and missed qualifying by two-tenths of a second. Strategically, both of them ran flawless races."

The men's 1,500m race began the day. Sophomore Kyle Embry finished in 13th to lead the Eagles and like Tarlton fell just one spot out of advancing to the finals. His time was 4:03.24. Running in the same heat at Embry, Eastern Illinois freshman Isai Morales claimed 12th in 4:02.09. Embry was seventh in his section.

Sophomore Jarrett Forrest also competed in the opening section and finished 17th overall with a time of 4:13.93. The top mark was put forth by Southeast Missouri sophomore Terrico Garrett, who recorded a 3:57.08. Both Forrest and Embry ran in the opening heat, which produced the six fastest times. Forrest was seventh in his race. A total of 20 individuals made up the field.

"Jarrett started in the mix but after 800 meters he lost contact and got disconnected (from the field). Once he realized he didn't have a chance, he just cruised it on it. Once you realize you are out of contention, you just try to save yourself for your next race," Dixon said. "Kyle was in the second heat and went out harder. Kyle said afterward that he knew it was going to come down to having a big kick and he didn't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. With about 300 meters to go, I looked and he was in full stride driving to the finish, but you can only hold that so long and on the straightaway, he started to run out of gas and locked up with about 50 meters to go."

Morehead State also had good showings in the 10,000-meter run. It was the first time this season Eagle athletes participated in a race of that distance.

Sophomore Jacob Vogelpohl placed 13th in the men's event, while freshman Megan Bush took 10th and sophomore Isabella Copher 11th in the women's competition.

Bush covered the course in 43:28.57, with Copher notching a time of 44:13.96. Eastern Illinois senior Lindsey Carlson won the race in 37:06.16.

"The pace was super conservative, almost a jog. Megan felt good and by the second half, she had some life in her. Isabella was wearing down as the race went on, but she found a second life with about a mile to go and started to pace of a girl from Eastern Illinois. Megan and Isabella ran together most of the time except for lap 18 and that's when Megan pulled away and Isabella fell off a bit. Megan finished pretty strong," Dixon said. "Eighth place last year was 39:40 and this year was 42:30. The heat index today was 99. It was the hottest 10K I'd ever seen in the OVC. It had the slowest overall times I've ever seen. They had water stations set up every 200 meters. It's what made that three-minute difference (between last year's race and this year). No one wanted to work more than they had to, because a lot of the runners were doubling or tripling (events)."

Vogelpohl was timed in 33:43.80, finishing just under a minute out of a scoring position. Sixteen men started the race, which was won by Eastern Illinois junior Dustin Hatfield in 31:06.13.

"Jacob did exactly what he knew he needed to do. He knew it would be hot in the 10K and so he went out more conservative than what he wanted to. He sat in the back of the pack, but the people in front of him were making their moves too hard, and like he's done all year, he started out in last place and started picking people off," Dixon said. "He was in no man's land the whole time, but there were only 16 people in the race. He just kept his pace the whole time and picked off about four or five people a lap and they just started dropping off.

"He really started getting tired and faded a little at the end, but not as much as everyone else. He ran a smart race, but I worried about him breaking down and I didn't want that to happen to him. I said 'don't kill yourself, just relax.' He wanted to catch a guy in front of him, but I just said 'let it go.' You could see what it was doing to his body," Dixon added. "So, he needed to just play the smart game (and save himself for the 5K). He spent an hour in the medical tent afterward just recuperating. He was overheated. The 10K is so chaotic. People were just falling off left and right."

The Eagles also had a pair of representatives in the women's 200-meter dash prelims. Junior Dallas Jones was 21st in 27.24, with sophomore Tayla Lee 23rd in 27.92. Murray State junior Rachel Hagans posted the top time after being clocked in 23.70. The top eight finishers earned a bid to Friday's finals.

"Dallas wanted to run faster than what she did at UK. She was two-tenths of a second faster and she was happy with that. Tayla was a little off what she did at UK, but I wanted to get her out there and run something so that she could get ready for the 4x1(00-meter relay)," Dixon said. "Dallas was my first recruit and I've really enjoyed watching her make the improvements she has since her freshman year."

Morehead State will return to action at the meet on Thursday when seven Eagles hit the track. The women's 400-meter dash begins the day at 7:25 p.m. ET for MSU. The women's 100-meter dash will follow at 7:55 p.m. ET, with the men's 800-meter run capping off the Eagles' competition at 8:15 p.m. ET.

Watch the action live on ESPN+ through the link: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=627abf8e-8240-48df-992a-ab5b8f8ac452, or keep up with each event as it takes place through live results at the link: http://cfpitiming.com/2022_Outdoor_Season/OVC_2022/OVC_Outdoor_2022.html.

After the first day, Southeast Missouri leads the men's team standings with 61 points, while SEMO also tops the women's field by a narrow margin over Belmont. The Redhawks have 48 points to the Bruins' 47. Only five of the eight men's schools and six of the 10 women's squads have registered a point with just four events in the books.