MOREHEAD, Ky. – High winds and cold temperatures hampered Saturday's performances at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational in Cincinnati and the Centre Invitational in Danville, Ky., but it did not prevent the Morehead State track and field teams from exceeding some expectations at their meets.
For the first time in four years, coach
Clay Dixon sent his Eagle squads to two competitions held simultaneously. Most of the Blue and Gold traveled to the Centre Invitational at the Track in Andy Frye Stadium, with the rest heading to the University of Cincinnati's Oliver Nikoloff Invitational at Gettler Stadium and Coy Field.
Although neither group racked up many points, Dixon and assistant coach
Charles Pruitt both saw positive performances from the Eagles, especially in the 5K races.
"I think the group did really well overall. (You) can't sugar coat that conditions were absolutely horrid. The goal for everyone was just to go out and compete and not focus on time, and that's what they did," said Pruitt, who guided the Eagles in the Queen City. "(The) standout performances were (from sophomores)
Laikin Tarlton and
Garrett Watts in the 5K. Laikin somehow 'pr'd' despite the conditions (finishing in) 18:00 and Garrett won his heat convincingly (in) 15:06. He definitely should've been in the fast heat."
"(We) had some pretty decent 5K's today and some good development in the 1,500m groups. The wind was really picking up for the 800m and sprint events so it was really just about getting good efforts in and competing," Dixon said of those at Centre. "Nobody had fast times either on our team or others. I would just tell people go for placement as opposed to times since we had 20-30 mile-per-hour winds."
Junior
Kyle Embry had the best finish for an Eagle by placing fifth in the 10,000-meter run in Cincinnati. He covered the course in 31:53.11.
Sophomore
Cloe Copas and junior
Peyton Fairchild paced the team at Centre. Copas finished eighth in the 1,500-meter run (5:14.00) to score the team's lone point, while Fairchild was ninth in the steeplechase (10:33.74).
The 5,000-meter runners stood out. At Centre, junior
Isabella Copher captured 11th in 19:08.03. On the men's side, junior
Justin Chavez was 20th in 16:16.38 and sophomore
Alex Murray was two spots back in 22nd in 16:20.30.
At Cincinnati, Tarlton placed 18th in 18:00.90, over a 43 second drop off her seeded time. Watts took 16th in his race, also significantly bettering his entry mark. He was clocked in 15:06.04. Junior
Jarrett Forrest rounded out the group by placing 45th in 16:11.62.
"I think (in) Cincy it was cold," Dixon said. "(But it) looks like the 5k's did well there too."
Those in the 1,500m also posted some noteworthy times.
Junior
Riliegh Owens paced six Eagle women in her race at Centre. She was 16th in 5:25.73. Sophomore
Jennifer Ramirez was 21st in 5:34.00, while freshman
Kaylyn Holman was 29th in 5:47.95, freshman
Hope Harris was 32nd in 6:01.97, freshman
Natalie Curry was 39th in 6:11.49 and freshman
Casey Skaggs was 42nd in 6:25.78. Sophomore
Ethan Vance represented the guys and placed 24th in his race in 4:23.42.
Ar Cincinnati, junior
Wes Grogan led a trio of Eagles by placing 26th in 4:08.08. Junior
Kyler Stewart followed in 31st in 4:11.80, with junior
Justin Bland in 35th in 4:18.74.
"Even the guys who didn't have as good of races beat people who were seeded faster than they were, so there was a lot of positives to take from the day," Pruitt said.
The weather had a greater impact on those competing at the shorter distances. At Cincinnati, sophomore
Lucy Singleton was timed in 2:19.30 in the 800-meter run. She placed 13th. On the guys' side, freshman
Micah Gray finished 28th in 2:04.10, with junior
Toby Cook in 31st in 2:06.14.
At Centre, junior
Mary Alice Thornburg finished 14th in 2:33.38. Owens was 29th in 2:38.85, with Ramirez in 35th in 2:40.82. For the men, sophomore
Sam Lucas was 24th in 2:06.90, while sophomore
Austin Montgomery was 28th in 2:07.78.
All of the sprinters competed at Centre.
Junior
Tayla Lee led the MSU contingent. She was 26th in the 100-meter dash in 14.18 and 27th in the 200-meter dash in 29.46. It was the first time this year she was the highest-finishing sprinter in the shortest distance. Freshman
Natalia Davis was right behind in the 100m (27th), crossing the line in 14.21. She also finished 24th in the 400-meter dash in 1:07.80. Sophomore
Keana Meriwether was 32nd in the latter race in 1:13.48.
The Oliver Nikoloff Invitational was not scored.
At Centre, the Eagle women finished in 20th, while the men tied for 21st.
Cedarville scored 151 points to win the women's meet. Centre was the runner-up with 93 points. Berry (Ga.) (78 points), Wittenberg (64 points), Denison (46 points), Ohio Wesleyan (44.50 points), Hanover (41 points), Lindsey Wilson (40 points), Thomas More (31 points), Midway (26 points), Mount St. Joseph (19 points), Berea (17 points), Wilmington (Ohio) (16 points), Georgetown (Ky.) (9.50 points), Shawnee State (six points), Transylvania (five points), University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) (five points), Earlham (four points), Asbury (two points), Morehead State (one point), Campbellsville (no points), Maryville (Tenn.) (no points), University of the South (no points), Pikeville (no points), Spalding (no points) and D'Youville (no points) rounded out the field.
Host Centre won the men's competition with 124 points, followed by Cedarville (100), Berry (Ga.) (85), Denison (70.50), Lindsey Wilson (69), Wittenberg (37), Wilmington (Ohio) (28), Ohio Wesleyan (24), Berea (24), Thomas More (22), Lindsey Wilson JV (20), Transylvania (18), Antelope Children Track Club (13), Earlham (10), Midway (eight), University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) (eight), Asbury (eight), Maryville (Tenn.) (eight), Mount St. Joseph (eight), Georgetown (Ky.) (7.50), Hanover (five), University of the South (five), Morehead State (zero), Spalding (zero), Shawnee State (zero), Campbellsville (zero) and Pikeville (zero).
Dixon and the Eagles will look for good weather when the entire group returns to Danville for the Centre Twilight on Friday, Apr. 14.
