MOREHEAD, Ky. – The flurry of action the Morehead State track and field has seen over the last few weeks will come to an end on Wednesday as seven Eagle athletes will travel to Lynchburg, Va., for the Liberty Twilight Qualifier on the Matthes-Hopkins Track Complex. It will be the final competition for the Blue and Gold before the Ohio Valley Conference championship.
MSU has run in four meets in the last three and a half weeks, but the club will take eight days off before the OVCs, which will take place from Thursday, May 11 to Saturday, May 13 in Edwardsville, Ill.
Wednesday's competition is noted for its fast 1,500m field. The slower sections of the men's/women's 1,500-meter run will begin at 5:45 p.m., with the fastest sections at 9:10 p.m. The open 800-meter run will be at 6:25 p.m., with the invitational event going off at 8:55 p.m.
All of the Eagles will run in either the 800m or the 1,500m.
MSU, Liberty, Radford, Regent University, Patrick and Henry, Southern Virginia, Randolph Macon, James Madison, Charlotte, Methodist, Virginia Tech, Montreat, High Point, N.C. State, Pfeiffer, West Virginia Tech, Bluefield State, North Carolina, VMI, Washington and Lee, Louisburg, Eastern Kentucky, Appalachian State, Ferrum and Hagerstown C.C., in addition to a host of club teams and unattached entries, will make up the field. The meet also will serve as Liberty's Senior Day.
The women's discus opens the events at 11:30 a.m., with the track races beginning at 2 p.m.
It will be the second straight year, and the third time in the last five years, the Eagles will compete at the meet, which is hosted by Liberty University. It also will be the team's first mid-week event of the season.
Jacob Vogelpohl, who is redshirting during the outdoor season, posted the top finish last spring when he placed second in the 1,500-meter run. In 2018,MSU's only other appearance at the meet, Justin Moakler was the runner-up in the 1,500m.
Of the Eagles slated to run on Wednesday: juniors
Toby Cook,
Wes Grogan and
Laikin Tarlton, and sophomore
Lucy Singleton, competed last year. In the men's 800-meter run, Cook was 14th in 1:56.15, with Grogan in 16th in 1:57.94. Tarlton placed 19th in the 1,500m in 5:07.59. Singleton was slated to run the 800m, but withdrew before the race to rest for the OVC championship.
Besides Cook, Grogan, Tarlton and Singleton, juniors
Riliegh Owens and
Mary Alice Thornburg, and sophomore
Sam Lucas will also run.
"(We're) Just trying to get another opportunity to race and keep the legs spinning for this group. (I'm) hoping for some fast times, but at the very least it gives them a chance to continue to refine their racing," said MSU coach
Clay Dixon.
Live results can be found by clicking the link:
https://blueridgetiminglive.com/2023/lutwilight/.
The OVC Championship is the Eagles' final meet of the season. It will take place May 11-13 at SIUE.
