MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State track & field and cross country coach
Clay Dixon has completed the schedule for the Eagles' indoor season.
MSU will participate in six meets this winter, including three at nearby Marshall. The Blue and Gold also will return to Bellarmine and trek to Lynchburg, Va., for a competition at Liberty, before concluding the campaign at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
The one major difference this year from the past few is that the men will compete alongside the women. MSU did not operate a men's indoor track and field program from 2008-23.
"The biggest news is that the men will run this year. (Otherwise) it's the same schedule we've had the last several seasons," Dixon said. "It's very exciting to be competing in a full indoor schedule for the men. It really makes the entire year competitive for them and I'm excited to see how they stack up at Indoor OVC."
The 2023-24 campaign will be the third in a row in which MSU will enter three competitions at Marshall. Just like the past two years, the meets are named the Marshall Opener, the Marshall (Alumni) Classic and the Marshall Invitational. The Eagles also competed in the trio in 2019 and 2020.
"It's great to have Marshall and the Norton Indoor Track in Louisville (nearby)," Dixon said. "I know many teams have to travel several hours to their Indoor meets, but we conveniently have two great places to compete. Marshall is just an hour away and Louisville is just two hours."
The Marshall Opener kicks things off on Friday, Dec. 8. In the previous two editions, the team entrants included just the women from MSU and Marshall. This year, the men also will compete. It will be the lone meet during the fall semester.
When the calendar flips to January, the squad will return for the Marshall Alumni Classic on Saturday, Jan. 13. In 2022, the Eagles finished third, while last winter they were seventh. The team has run at that meet every year since 2017, except for the 2021 Covid-abbreviated year.
On Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19-20, coach Dixon's club will travel to Liberty for the Brant Tolsma Invitational, although some individuals may instead go to the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Ind. It will be the team's first indoor trip to Liberty in coach Dixon's five years at the helm of the Eagle program.
The Blue and Gold will return in February for the PNC Bellarmine Invitational on Friday the 2nd. MSU ran at Bellarmine last year, with the women finishing 12th and the men 14th. It also competed there in 2022 with the women placing 11th and the men 13th. The two squads were also slated to run in a second Bellarmine meet in 2022, but a snowstorm prevented the team from making the trip. In each case, the event had a different name.
The squad will return to Marshall for one final time on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10, for the Marshall Invitational. MSU has run in one version or another of the meet between 2017-23, except 2021. The Eagle men have finished fifth in each of the last two editions, with the women taking seventh in 2022 and eighth in 2023.
For the fifth time, the OVC Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala. The venue has served as the site of the meet from 2019-23, except for 2021. This year's event will be Thursday and Friday, Feb. 21-22. Last February, the Eagle women placed 10th. The last OVC Indoor Track and Field Championship appearance for the MSU men was in 2008 when the team claimed sixth.
"We are excited to open up a little stronger in January and really try to see some improvements at OVC," Dixon said. "This group is experienced, and I think they are ready to get after it."
The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place Friday and Saturday, Mar. 8-9 at The Track at New Balance in Boston.
The outdoor track and field campaign will begin in mid-to-late March.
