MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the second straight year, the Morehead State women's track and field team bettered its performance from the previous season at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, as the team notched its highest point total since 2019, on Thursday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. Junior
Lucy Singleton also collected points, marking the first time an Eagle scored in an individual competition since Caitlin Cunningham placed fourth in the 3,000-meter run in 2019.
The meet also marked an historic return for the men's team to the event. It last participated in 2008.
Singleton again led the way by posting her career best OVC Indoor Championship finish after taking eighth in the mile. Last spring, Singleton captured sixth in the 1,500-meter run and seventh in the 800-meter run at the 2023 OVC Outdoor Championships, but this was the first time she reached the podium at the indoor event.
"I went out with the leader in the race, so I got out fairly fast. Racing (on) a 200-meter indoor track is a weakness of mine and I felt going out and trying to hang on would be my best bet, strategy wise," she said. "(It) didn't end up the way I had hoped and (it) wasn't my best day. (I just) couldn't turn into that next gear in the last lap, but I had my second-fastest time of the season and was still able to score, so I'm happy with that."
Singleton covered the course in 5:06.61 and finished eighth in the second heat. Her time was faster than everyone in the first heat, so she made the podium. Southeast Missouri's Taylor Fox blistered the field and crossed the line in 4:54.65 to win the race for the second straight year.
Singleton was oh-so-close to earning a different medal, finishing just behind SEMO's Layla Fliege (5:06.37), UT Martin's Lydia Tankersley (5:06.14) and SEMO's Brianna Payton (5:05.93), 69-hundredths of a second out of fifth place.
It was the only event in which either Eagle team scored on Saturday. Both the MSU men and women placed sixth in Friday's distance medley relay to account for all of the other points.
An injury during the warm-ups of Wednesday's long jump prevented freshman
Ginger Hayden from participating in Thursday's triple jump, leaving the Blue and Gold with its only entries coming in the men's and women's mile, and 3,000m.
In the women's mile, freshman
Taylor Allen finished 15th in a new "pr" of 5:19.82, with sophomore
Kaylyn Holman taking 20th in 5:26.81. For Holman, it was an improvement of more than 19 seconds off her previous season-best time.
In the men's race, senior
Kyle Embry placed 10th in 4:17.51, with freshman
Armando Montes in 21st in 4:27.63, senior
Toby Cook in 26th in 4:36.71 and freshman
Garrett West in 27th in 4:39.13. Montes improved his top time by 1.5 seconds.
In the 3,000m, sophomore
Abby Taylor finished fifth in her heat and 17th overall in 10:44.14. Approximately 22 hours after completing the 5,000-meter run, senior
Laikin Tarlton placed 21st in 10:53.56, with junior
Megan Bush crossing the line in 22nd in 10:57.25. Taylor had a significant drop in time from her former "pr" of 11:07.63.
Like Tarlton, Vogelpohl ran the 5,000m last night and returned for the 3,000m on Thursday. He led the squad and finished in 8:48.27, a personal best by about two and a half seconds. The final three Eagles finished back-to-back-to-back in 25th, 26th and 27th. Emby crossed the line in 9:00.98, with senior
Peyton Fairchild in 9:01.29 and freshman
Keghan Thompson in 9:07.78. Fairchild cut 2.71 seconds off his previous season best.
The women's DMR of Allen, Holman, Taylor and
Lucy Singleton finished sixth in 12:43.88. The men's foursome of Cook, West, Montes and Embry also was sixth. That group finished in 10:35.73.
MSU only sent a contingent of 10 men and seven women to the meet, and combined they were entered 24 times in six events apiece. So, the Eagles were severely undermanned against the competition and never had a realistic shot of placing high as a team.
Little Rock won its first men's title after totaling 180 points. Last year's champion, Eastern Illinois, collected 176.5 points to take second. Southeast Missouri (127.5), Tennessee State (59), Western Illinois (48), UT Martin (33), Lindenwood (25), Southern Indiana (24), SIUE (13) and Morehead State (three) followed in order.
Southeast Missouri women captured its second straight crown and ninth overall after raking in 224 points. Little Rock was the runner-up with 125.5 points, with Western Illinois (78), Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech (58), SIUE (41), Tennessee State (32.5), UT Martin (29), Southern Indiana (nine), and Lindenwood and Morehead State (four) rounding out the field.
The OVC presented its awards at the conclusion of the meet. They were:
OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year: Adam Swanson, Eastern Illinois
OVC Male Field Athlete of the Year: Parker Feuerborn, Southeast Missouri
OVC Male Freshman of the Year: Daniel Lacy, Eastern Illinois
OVC Men's Coach of the Year: JP Behnke, Little Rock
OVC Male Athlete of the Championship: Adam Swanson, Eastern Illinois
OVC Female Track Athlete of the Year: Breanna Miles, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Field Athlete of the Year: Alexia Washington, Little Rock
OVC Female Freshman of the Year: Brianna Dixon, Southeast Missouri
OVC Women's Coach of the Year: Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Athlete of the Championship: Aliyah Adams, Western Illinois
