MOREHEAD, Ky. — Nine in-state student-athletes, a North Carolina state championship medalist and an Ohio high school conference Cross Country Runner of the Year comprise the additions to coach
Clay Dixon's Morehead State cross country and track and field squad for 2023-24. All 11 enter as freshmen.
"I am excited about this group. We got some people that can be contributors their freshman year and some people that will take some time to develop, which is personally my favorite part about coaching," Dixon said.
Garrett West and Aidan Whitsell both hail from Dixon, Ky., and Webster County High School. West finished sixth and Whitsell 38th in last autumn's Kentucky's Class 2A State Cross Country Championship, helping their team place second overall. As juniors, West was 20th and Whitsell 42nd, with the Trojans claiming third in the team standings.
West also was the 2022 regional runner-up in cross country. Whitsell placed 10th in that meet. In 2021, West finished fourth, with Whitsell ninth.
Earlier this month, the pair paced Webster County's 4x800-meter relay team to a fourth-place finish at the Class 2A State Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Individually at the meet, West was 17th in the 800-meter run, while Whitsell was 20th in the 3,200-meter run. West also ran a leg of the 4x400-meter relay that captured 17th.
West was the 2023 regional champ in the 800m. As a junior, he finished fourth in that race in the regional meet. West and Whitsell's 4x800m relay squad ended its career as two-time region champs.
West also finished 18th in the state cross county meet as a sophomore and 50th as a freshman.
"(West) is a solid cross country athlete. (He) just knows how to race. Him and his teammate Aiden, I met at the annual summer cross country camp we host. I like them both and that really helped get to know their personality," Dixon said.
"He has some decent foot speed with a 2:05 800m. He saw a lot of improvement this cross country season and posted personal bests of 16:18 on the cross course and 10:01 on the track at an end of cross country season time trial for the 3200m," continued Dixon about West.
"It's going to be fun coaching Aidan because I feel like I've known him for years. His brother Iszack Whitsell was my teammate here at MSU from 2014 until I graduated, and I remember doing runs with him and Iszack talking about his brother," Dixon said. "I met Aidan at our cross country camp as well and he came out so motivated from it that he saw his cross country personal best drop by 34 seconds. I think he will have a good track season and develop into a solid runner here in a few years."
North Laurel High's Taylor Allen was 19th at the 2022 Kentucky Class 3A state cross country championships. The London native, also was 12th in both the 1,600-meter and 3,200m events at this month's state track and field championships. At the recent regionals, she was second in the 1,600m and third in the 3,200m.
Allen qualified for the cross country state meet all six years in which she was eligible. In 2021, she placed 23rd. As a junior on the track, she was 15th in the metric mile and 17th in the two-mile state races. She also ran the last leg of the Lady Jaguars' 4x800m team that finished 22nd.
"She is someone I can see being in our top five next cross country season. She has a good record at the KHSAA state meet, improving from 139th, 137th, 23th to 19th by her senior year," Dixon said. "On the track, she is a 2:29 (800m), 5:22 (1,600m), 11:45 (3,200m) runner and should be good in the 1,500m or 5,000m in college."
Ginger Hayden enters MSU as its first recruit in the horizonal jumps during Dixon's tenure. The Newport, N.C., native and Croatan High School graduate placed fifth in the long jump and 10th in the triple jump at the 2023 North Carolina Class 3A State Track and Field Championships. As a junior, she also was 10th at the meet in the triple jump.
Hayden was named the 2023 Coastal Conference 3A Female Field Athlete of the Year. She captured the regional crowns in both the long and triple jumps, as well as the high jump, during the recently-completed outdoor season, helping Croatan to win the team title. An accomplished athlete, Hayden also earned all-area honors in basketball and lacrosse.
"She is a hard worker and very passionate about the sport and competing," Dixon said.
Bishop Brossart's Lauren Gooderson is one of three Northern Kentuckians who will join the MSU program this fall. A talented soccer goalkeeper, who said she had collegiate offers in that sport, Gooderson will be a sprinter for the Eagles.
This past fall on the pitch, Gooderson registered 10 shutouts and a 1.00 goals-against average for a Lady 'Stangs' squad that advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Gooderson competed in four events at the 2023 Kentucky Class 1A State Track and Field Championships. The Alexandria, Ky., resident placed eighth in the 400-meter dash, ran the anchor leg of the victorious 4x100-meter relay, and the first leg of the 4x400m relay which finished seventh. As a sophomore, she also led off the state champion 4x200-meter relay team and the fourth-place 4x100m foursome.
During her career, Brossart won the state team title in 2021 and was second this spring.
At the 2023 regional, Gooderson placed third in the 400m and was a member of the winning 4x100m quartet. The Lady 'Stangs captured the team crown for the third consecutive year.
"She is just an all-round athlete. I know she is a pretty solid soccer player in high school, but she should be a good addition to our long sprints program," Dixon said. "She will be focusing on the 200m-400m, and depending on how training goes, she may have the endurance for 800m."
Brady Baker also hails from Alexandria, Ky., but graduated from Campbell County High School. He was a member of the Camels' 14th-place 4x800m relay team at the 2023 Class 3A state championships. He also qualified for the 2022 3A state cross country meet. He finished 41st at the regional competition for the team titlists last fall. As a junior, he was 37th at the event. In the outdoor season's regional, he placed 12th in the 1,600m and 13th in the 800m.
"He really showed progress his senior year and worked hard for it," Dixon said. "I think he has potential to continue that and develop well these next few years."
Armando Montes capped off his career at Dixie Heights High School with a third-place finish at the state Class 3A Track and Field Championships this month. He also ran the anchor leg of the squad's 4x400m relay that placed 15th. In May, he captured the 800m regional crown. This past fall, he was 28th in the Class 3A state cross country meet and 16th in the regionals. He was the top finisher for a team which placed 19th overall at state and fifth in the region.
As a junior, he finished sixth in the 800m and seventh in the 1,600m at the regional track championships.
A native of Covington, Ky., Montes qualified for the state cross country meet three times.
"(He is a) very talented individual that I think should transition well to college running," Dixon said.
Noah Bunting was the National Division Runner of the Year for the Southern Buckeye Athletic and Academic Conference this past fall in cross country and also was named to the All-SBAAC First Team. His Clermont Northeast High School Rockets captured back-to-back league crowns in 2021 and 2022.
In outdoor track and field, the Batavia, Ohio, resident, owns the second-fastest time in the 3,200m (10:08.71) and third-fastest mark in the 1,600m (4:55.92) in his school's history.
As a senior, he won every regular-season meet in which he raced. In his junior season, he finished 49th at the state's Division II championship.
"This guy is a cross country runner. He went the entire season going undefeated until unfortunately at his district meet he was sick with the flu or something and could barely race," Dixon said of Bunting. "His junior year, he qualified for the Ohio state cross country meet, where he placed 49th, which is saying something with how deep and talented Ohio cross country is. He has a 16:04 5K personal best in cross country and I think his track times will show improvement here this year, if he stays healthy."
A native of Lexington, Ky., Asher Jack enters MSU having made his greatest mark in cross country. The Tates Creek High School graduate, qualified for the state 3A cross country meet four times. At the regional cross country championship, Jack boasted two top-30 finishes and four top-60 finishes.
In track and field, Jack ran in a pair of regionals, placing eighth in the 800m in 2022 and 12th in the 3,200m in 2021.
"(He's) a good kid, really smart, (who) just has the classic cross-country-kid look to him," Dixon said. "I think he can develop into a good runner and possibly be a contributor in a few years."
Lick Creek, Kentucky's Keghan Thompson joins the Eagles after having qualified for four state Class A Cross Country Championships and four state Class A Track and Field Championships. This past fall, the East Ridge High School graduate placed 37th. In his three previous state cross country races, he was 119th, 142nd and 223rd. In track, he earned berths in four different events, with highlights of finishing 11th in the 800m in 2022, and 14th in both the 1,600m and 3,200m in 2023. As a freshman and sophomore, he was a member of the 4x800m relay squad that finished 21st twice.
In regional meets, Thompson crossed the line in third, seventh and ninth, respectively, in each of the last three cross country campaigns. He also claimed 36th as a freshman and 60th as an eighth-grader. In track, he won the 3,200m title and finished third in the 1,600m this past May. As a junior, he was second in the 800m and third in the 1,600m. In his sophomore season, he was third in the 3,200m and fourth in the 1,600m.
"He has progressed well through his career and ran a personal best at the state meet," Dixon said. "I think he has the right tool sets to develop well over his career."
Emily Spradlin ran both the 800m and 1,600m at her last three outdoor track regionals. A native of Hartford, Ky., and a graduate of Ohio County High School, the same place that produced rising senior
Kyle Embry, Spradlin's best finish came in 2022 when she was eighth in the 1,600m.
Spradlin did not run in her regional cross country meet this past fall, but in the four previous seasons she picked up three sub-60th-place finishes. As an eighth-grader, she placed 64th.
"She progressed well her senior season," Dixon said. "She first got in contact with us at our summer camp and stayed in contact her senior year."
The negative impact Covid-19 had on Dixon's ability to recruit is finally coming to an end.
"This was also the first year since the summer of 2019 we had our summer cross country camp and we immediately saw the impact that has on our recruiting efforts. We picked up two guys (Garrett West and Aidan Whitsell) from the camp," Dixon said. "On our roster now, we have seven people who went to that camp at some point when they were in high school, so it really is a good recruiting tool. In fact, that is how I first got in contact with the coach at Morehead (State) when I was a senior in high school."
The Eagles are expected to bring back their entire roster except
Tayla Lee,
Riliegh Owens,
Mary Alice Thornburg and
Garrett Watts from those that completed the season this spring.
MSU will open its cross country season in August. Morehead State will host the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Championship at the end of October.
