Day 1 story
Day 2 story
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State completed its best all-around performance in four years at the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday with a pair of Eagles scoring in three events.
Sophomores
Lucy Singleton and
Laikin Tarlton each finished the final day on the podium at the Ralph Korte Stadium on SIUE's campus in Edwardsville, Ill.
Singleton placed sixth in the 1,500-meter run in the early afternoon and came back later and claimed seventh in the 800-meter run. Singleton benefited from a three-and-a-half hour weather break in the mid-afternoon. She had previously qualified for the 800m final by taking seventh on Friday in 2:14.04.
"Doing both races today, with the 800m prelims also the day before, made today pretty challenging. I surprised myself and came out with another 'pr' in the 1500m. I wasn't expecting that at all considering how I felt, but it was a nice surprise. (In the) 800m final I could really tell how tired I was," Singleton said. "Although tired, my training helped prepare me for this because we practice to train through tired legs and still perform. I feel like I was able to accomplish that and am so proud of our girls' team this season."
"Lucy did a tough double. A 'pr' in the 800m the day before, then coming back the next day and 'pr'ing in the 1500m and scoring points," MSU coach
Clay Dixon said. "She was tired, but competed, and did well in the 800m final and beat someone, so that was great to see."
Tarlton followed up her fourth place in the 10,000-meter run on Thursday by crossing the line in seventh in the 5,000-meter run Saturday evening.
MSU's men finished in ninth with nine points, while its women were 10th with 13 points. It was the first time since 2015 the women scored more than the men, as well as the highest total for the ladies since they tallied 16 points in both 2012 and 2011. The men's mark was their best since 2021.
However, the Eagles collected those points in seven of the 12 total events they entered and posted 11 top-10 finishes. With just 17 athletes competing at total of 22 times, the Eagles exceeded most expectations. Essentially 50 percent of the team finished in the top 10 of their event.
Over the course of the weekend, 12 of the runners (including the relay) set a season "pr", while 13 out-performed their pre-race seeding.
Singleton and Tarlton became the first double-scorers at the OVC Outdoor Championship since Kilani Harvey and Jarrett Mattingly do so in 2021.
Singleton started the day by running a "pr" of 4:40.05 in the 1500m.
"For the 1500m, my goal was to get into the pack and hang with them until the last 300m," she said. "I kept watch of the front pack throughout the race and each time they made a move I responded and (in) the final stretch just gave it all I had."
She came back and ran a 2:18.15 in the 800m. Despite the short turnaround, it was still her fourth fastest time of the year.
"For the 800m, it was a lot like the 1500m in that my goal was to hang on to the pack and go the last 200m," she said. "The girls took it out super-fast on the first lap, so the second lap was just trying to maintain my position and finish out."
Southeast Missouri senior Katie Wegmann won the 1,500m in 4:30.68, while her junior teammate Taylor Fox captured the 800m title in 2:08.38.
Tarlton led a trio of Eagles in the 5,000m, finishing seventh in 17:59.50, just a hair under her previous 'pr' of 18:00.90.
Despite running the 10K two days earlier, Tarlton was prepared for her double.
"My biggest focus again tonight was to get attached to the scoring pack and hang on. I knew I was going to start hurting a lot sooner since I did the 10k, but I also knew most of the field had also run other races and there was heat again," she said. "So, I just mentally prepared for that hurt and made myself hang for as long as I could to ensure I scored. I honestly just wanted to enjoy the race and leave feeling like I raced hard, and I definitely did."
"Laikin's 5K was awesome, not only just scoring points, but she dipped under 18 minutes for the first time ever," Dixon said. "All that with a 10K on her legs from 48 hours before. It was funny, she started smiling like six laps in and it looked like she was just having fun."
Sophomores
Isabella Copher and
Cloe Copas also ran the 5K. Copher finished 16th in 19:15.10. Copas crossed the line in 20th in 19:35.96 in the 22-person field.
"Isabella and Cloe went for it too, just like the two Justins (Bland and Chavez)," Dixon said. "They were hurting that second half, but in a championship event, it's all about taking that risk."
Southern Indiana senior Kara Martin captured the win in 17:30.63.
Redshirt sophomore
Garrett Watts was the Eagles' top performer in the men's 5K, claiming 10th in 15:12.51. He finished 15th at the 2021 meet. He also was ninth in the 1,500m in 2021. Watts did not compete last year.
Like Tarlton, sophomore
Kyler Stewart came back from a podium finish in his 10K on Thursday to run the 5K on Saturday. He finished in 14th in 15:37.58.
Sophomore
Justin Bland and junior
Justin Chavez also competed in the event. Bland was 22nd in 16:19.95, while Chavez was 23rd in 16:21.17.
Noah Hufnagel, a senior from Southern Indiana, came out on top in 14:33.41.
"(The) men's 5K was hot and muggy, so it was anyone's race. Garrett was grinding, but the top nine moved and he was gaining but ran out of real estate when trying to catch them," Dixon said. "Kyler slowly moved up and performed well; great doubling back from that 10K. I'm really excited about his progress and how things are going for him. The two Justins went out hard just to see if they could compete. The hot pace took a toll, but I was proud of the effort."
In the day's final event, the Eagle foursome of redshirt freshman
Micah Gray, and sophomores
Wes Grogan,
Sam Lucas and
Toby Cook placed ninth in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:31.34. The only other time the foursome ran together, two weeks ago at Kentucky, they crossed the line in 3:47.32.
Southeast Missouri captured the crown in 3:13.00.
"I'm happy the 4x4 competed and went for it," Dixon said. "(They) all ran great splits, roughly 52 and some change per person."
Southeast Missouri swept both team titles. The Redhawk men also won last year. It was their eighth title since 2005. The Redhawk women recaptured the championship it surrendered to Murray State last spring. SEMO won in 2021. This year's crown is the team's eighth since 2000.
In the men's standings, Southeast Missouri accumulated 216 points, edging out runner-up Little Rock (214). Eastern Illinois (165.5), UT Martin (59), Lindenwood (53), Tennessee State (52.5), SIUE (24), Southern Indiana (22) and MSU rounded out the field.
SEMO's women tallied 225 points, followed by Little Rock (139.5), Eastern Illinois (119), Tennessee Tech (87), SIUE (58), Tennessee State (50), Lindenwood (47), Southern Indiana (45), UT Martin (33.5) and MSU.
The following won the conference's individual awards.
Male Track Athlete of the Year: Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Male Field Athlete of the Year: Dylan Clark, Southeast Missouri
Male Freshman of the Year: Khalid White, UT Martin
Male Athlete of the Championship: Noah Hufnagel, Southern Indiana
Men's Coach of the Year: Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
Female Track Athlete of the Year: Breanna Miles, Southeast Missouri
Female Field Athlete of the Year: Gabby Ayetifio, Little Rock; Savannah Sullivan, SIUE
Female Freshman of the Year: Clara Billing, Southeast Missouri; Serenity Harry, Tennessee State
Female Athlete of the Championship: Gabby Ayetifio, Little Rock
Women's Coach of the Year: Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
"We scored in every distance event on the women's side, which I don't think we have ever done," said Dixon. "Collectively, as a men's and women's team I think this is one of the best OVCs we have done. I think other than maybe two or three people, everyone placed better than where they were ranked in the (pre-meet) performance list. (We) had multiple personal bests as well. (It) goes to show you that the peaking was right. The team consists of a bunch of gamers that want to compete."
