MOREHEAD, Ky. — A new era has begun in Morehead State track and field as Eagle sprinters posted some fastest times in school history on Friday night at the first indoor meet of the season, the Marshall Opener, at the Jeff Small Track in the Chris Cline Indoor Athletics Complex in Huntington, W.Va.
The Eagles especially stood out in the 60-meter dash in the four-team unscored competition, setting the school's three best men's times ever and the top women's mark in five trips to the meet.
"I think that's (the) number two women's 60m in school history and, from my brief search, (the) fourth and fifth fastest 60m for the men," said MSU head coach
Clay Dixon referring to the 7.95 posted by freshman
Aa'Nya Freeland, and the 7.12 and 7.17 registered by sophomore
Cade Sullivan and freshman
Mark Whitener, respectively.
Freeland finished fourth in her event, while Sullivan set a "pr" in taking eighth. Whitener took 10th and freshman
Derril Carr claimed 11th in 7.18, in what was also a "pr" for him. Carr's previous top mark was 7.36, while Sullivan recorded a 39-hundredth of a second improvement on his former best time of 7.51.
Charleston's Zachary Parsons and Marshall's Micah Hinton tied for first in the men's race in 6.95. The Thundering Herd's Kennedy Pedro won the women's event in 7.66.
The Eagles' speed was noticeable in other events as well. Freshman
Olivia Miles' 400-meter dash was clocked in 1:01.47, the team's fastest at the Marshall Opener since Abigail Dorn covered the distance in 1:00.73 in 2019. Miles' time was the quickest 400m either indoors or outdoors, since Sierra Kelley notched a 1:00.81 at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in May of 2022. Miles posted the Blue and Gold's best finish on the day, taking second in the event. Marshall's Brynn Mckeever won the race in 1:00.40.
"I was super happy with the results of the 400m," Miles said. "I always get a little nervous before the first race of the season, but I just kept my focus on my race, my lane and my time, which really helped calm my nerves."
Freshman
Mia Underwood followed in fourth place with a time of 1:02.79, with freshman
Aaliyah Rodgers in seventh in 1:04.01, sophomore
Cheyenne Stark in 11th in 1:06.73 and freshman
Brooklyn Boyce in 12th in 1:07.03.
Boyce, Freeland, Miles and Rodgers also teamed to run the Eagles' first 4x400-meter relay at the meet since its first appearance in 2019.
"Throughout the whole meet, I just kept telling myself to go out and do the best I can and give all that I have, and I think that's exactly what I did, and I couldn't be happier with the outcomes," Miles added.
The foursome crossed the line in fourth in 4:19.16. It was the fastest 1,600-meter relay since the 2022 OVC Indoor Championships.
"I'm super proud of our team, too. We all did so well for the first meet," Miles said. "We went into our 4x400m just focusing on getting a good time and not so much the placement, and I think that helped us all stay calm and focused.
"I love running with these girls; we all have such a good time together and keep each other laughing, but we also know when and how to keep it serious to get the job done!"
Morehead State also had entries in the rarely run 300-meter dash. Freeland was the lone female in the event, taking sixth in 43.53. Carr topped the men by finishing in fourth in 36.54, just one-hundredth of a second ahead of fifth-place Sullivan (36.55) in the men's race. Whitener covered the course in 40.37 to place 18th.
Sophomore
Ginger Hayden got the exact same place and distance that she did in last year's meet in the long jump, finishing fifth in 5.08m/16'08.00".
Freshman
Tate Glass took sixth in the men's 400-meter dash in 52.50; while Carr, Glass, Sullivan and Whitener only ran three legs of the 4x400-meter relay, in what coach Dixon termed as a "workout."
Dixon was pleased with the performance of the sprinters, especially considering their collective youth.
"I think Nya and Olivia stood out on the women's side, and Cade and Derril (stood out) for the men," he said. "(There was) lots of good energy with this group and during the meet. The future is looking bright."
Miles echoed that sentiment.
"I'm super proud of the whole team. We showed up and proved that we aren't scared to be out on the track," she said. "Even if we are a smaller program, we have the talent and the abilities to compete at the same levels as those bigger than us and I believe that's exactly what we did!"
Morehead State will take a little more than five weeks off for exams and the semester break before returning to action back in Huntington on Saturday, Jan. 11, for the Marshall Alumni Classic.
