MOREHEAD, Ky. – After hovering around 16 and a half feet throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons, Morehead State track and field freshman long jumper
Ginger Hayden finally broke the 17-foot barrier with her first jump on Friday's Day 1 of the Jim Green Invitational at the UK Track and Field Complex on the Kentucky campus in Lexington, Ky.
The result was a new "pr" by two and a half inches (17'00.00"/5.18m) and a tie for 19th place among a talented field that included eight athletes from "power conference" schools, as well as Tulane, Kent State, Bowling Green and Western Kentucky, among others.
She credited the practice regimen of assistant coach Rob Springfield as the reason for her success.
"I have just been trusting Rob's training program and listening to what he has told me to do. He has worked with me through the past few months and knows how to push me in the right ways," she said. "I know each day of practice there is always going to be something I can improve on that coach is going to help me with. So, I just keep trusting in his workout plan, and his plan has been working, so I'm just going to keep trusting it."
Hayden will be back in action on Saturday in the triple jump.
Sophomore
Abby Taylor was the only Eagle to make the podium. She finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase in eighth place with a mark of 11:24.26. Despite falling short of her "pr", it was a massive reduction in time from last year's meet for Taylor, when she claimed second in 12:18.80.
Less than a week after winning the 800-meter run at the Jim Vargo Invitational, senior
Toby Cook placed 22nd in the 1,500-meter run, while marginally improving on his "pr" with a 4:01.36. Fifth-year runner
Kyle Embry was two spots back in 4:02.64. Freshman
Armando Montes was 33rd in 4:07.69. It was his "pr' by slightly more than four seconds. Freshman
Garrett West crossed the line in 26th in 4:10.07, his "pr" by 1.16 seconds.
On the women's side, freshman
Taylor Allen led the way by placing 39th in 4:58.96. Right behind her was sophomore
Kaylyn Holman in 40th in 4:59.21. It was a "pr" by 4.8 seconds for Holman. Junior
Cloe Copas also set a new personal best by covering the distance in 5:13.23, topping her previous mark by nearly seven seconds. She finished in 48th.
Redshirt junior
Jennifer Ramirez was 51st in 5:27.16. Sophomore
Hope Harris finished 57th in 5:41.21, with freshman
Emily Spradlin 58th in 5:46.98 and sophomore
Casey Skaggs 59th in 5:52.84.
The Eagles' only other event was the 200-meter dash. Freshman
Derril Carr was 56th in 23.12, with freshman
Cade Sullivan in 58th in 23.49. In both cases, it was a significant drop in time. Carr's previous "pr" was 23.28, with Sullivan's at 23.99.
"(I'm) happy with the first day. Sprints and jumps opened well and the 1,500s had some solid races," MSU head coach
Clay Dixon said. "(It was) good to see Abby run close to her 'pr' in the steeple, which shows consistency and her fitness. We are looking forward to more competitions tomorrow."
The remainder of the team will be in action on Saturday. The competition begins at 10:30 a.m. Hayden will begin the day for the Eagles with the triple jump at noon. It is the same time Kentucky will honor its seniors.
The women's 5,000-meter run will start the competition for MSU on the track at 1 p.m. Redshirt sophomore
Megan Bush and senior
Laikin Tarlton are Morehead State's representatives. Senior
Justin Bland, freshman
Noah Bunting, senior
Peyton Fairchild, fifth-year
Jarrett Forrest, senior
Alex Murray, senior
Kyler Stewart, freshman
Keghan Thompson and redshirt junior
Jacob Vogelpohl are all entered in the men's race at 1:30 p.m.
Carr and Sullivan will be back for the 100-meter dash. The race will begin at 2:40 p.m., with all heats counting as finals.
Freshman
Cheyenne Stark and redshirt junior
Micah Gray will each run in the 400-meter dash. Stark's race will be at 3:05 p.m., with Gray's event starting at 3:30 p.m.
The women's 800-meter run will take place at 4:15 p.m., with the men following at 4:30 p.m. Freshman
Lani Baskett, sophomore
Natalie Curry, Holman, Ramirez, junior
Lucy Singleton, freshman
Brady Baker, junior
Sam Lucas, Montes and West will all toe the line for the Blue and Gold.
For the fifth consecutive meet, Dixon will enter teams in the 4x400-meter relay. The women will be comprised of Stark, Holman, Ramirez and Curry. Their race will be at 4:50 p.m. The men's foursome will include Carr, Baker, Sullivan and Gray. Their race is at 5 p.m.
Live results can be found at the link:
https://pttiming.com/event.php?mid=1633&pt=schedule.
Next Friday and Saturday, the Eagles will compete in the Rick Erdmann Invitational at Eastern Kentucky. It will be Morehead State's final meet before the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, which will run from May 9-11.
