MOREHEAD, Ky. – There were several highlights for the Morehead State track and field teams in Saturday's Rick Erdmann Twilight Invitational on Eastern Kentucky's Tom Samuels Track in Richmond, Ky., but none more impressive than
Lucy Singleton's school-record breaking performance in the 1,500-meter run.
Singleton covered the course in 4:34.97, bettering the previous mark of 4:37.57 set by Susie Anderson in 2000. It was Singleton's fastest time by 10.26 seconds.
Singleton seems to like the Tom Samuels Track. Last year, the MSU junior won the event in a 63-person field with a time of 4:47.25 and also finished third in the 64-entrant 800-meter run in 2:16.93. She sat out the earlier meet at EKU to recover from early season lower back troubles that impacted her racing.
"Lucy was locked in today. She asked before the race this morning what she needed to break the 1,500m (school) record. I told her 73's (second laps)," MSU head coach
Clay Dixon said. "She went out fast with the group and held a good pace until she kicked it in that last lap and was well under the record. She went 69, 74, 74 (and) 55 (for the final 300 meters). (It was) great to see her run that. I knew she could do it and it was just a matter of the pieces coming together."
It was the third-fastest mark in the Ohio Valley Conference this season, trailing only Eastern Illinois' Sarah Carr (4:34.19) and Western Illinois' Maleigha Huston (4:34.90).
"Starting out, I wanted to stay as controlled as possible because I knew the top girls would take it out quick, so I wanted to stay in the middle of the pack to stay controlled," Singleton said. "I came out a little fast, but just kept my eyes on whoever was in front of me and made it a point to not let girls I had passed pass me later in the race."
Yet, Singleton only finished seventh. She was in a loaded field that included five runners from EKU which were ahead of her. The group was so fast that the top 10 racers would have broken Anderson's mark, and an 11th was just 49-hundredths of a second off her record.
Eastern Kentucky's Sydney Little Light won the race in 4:22.46.
Singleton had her eye on Anderson's 4:37.57.
"It was great, I've been struggling this season with injuries so to finally have my body work with me to reciprocate where I'm at with training is amazing," Singleton said. "Going into the race my big goal was going for the record, and with such a large, competitive field, I knew I would have a chance if I could hang on to the front end of the group."
Singleton acknowledged that going for the record was a team effort.
"My coaches were lined up on the track to give me pace (times), so I knew where I was at in the race. And coach Dixon gave a cue for me to drive my second lap since that's usually the one I slow down on. My final lap, I was tired and if it wasn't for my team lined up around the track encouraging me, I definitely wouldn't have had it," she said. "I'm very grateful for them. They were the reason it became possible for me to stay with it that last lap and not fall off. It was a great race, but an even greater moment with my team and coaches. I can't express enough how thankful I am for them and how much they helped me in that race!"
Singleton's performance alone would have been enough for coach Dixon to consider the meet a success, but several other Eagles also soared on Saturday.
Freshman
Cade Sullivan ran a 3.8-mile-per-hour, wind-aided 11.11 100-meter dash, the fastest for an MSU runner since Josh Harris recorded a 10.86 in 2009. Sullivan finished third. Evansville's Raymond Felton III won the race in 10.74.
"For the first time all year this race was me versus me. When I stepped up to the line, all I thought about was my race," Sullivan said. "After I was finished, I thought it was a good run, but I didn't know that I ran a top-four time in school history. I'm excited to go out at OVC and be the best version of me! Go Eags!"
If you think Singleton and Sullivan's races were all that stood out, you would be short-changing a few other Eagles. Just when you thought Morehead State had accomplished all it could, another Eagle would up the ante. In total, the Blue and Gold set 13 season "pr's" on Saturday.
Redshirt junior
Micah Gray was one MSU athlete who fit the bill. For the second straight week, he set a "pr" in the 400-meter dash. Gray has been gradually dropping time all season. His indoor "pr" was 55.16 and he has cropped nearly three seconds off that this spring. In the five outdoor meets in which he ran the 400m this season, he has notched a "pr" in four of them.
On Saturday, he finished fifth in 52.26. He then turned around and ran the leadoff leg in the victorious 4x400-meter relay that was the team's fastest this season by nearly 10 seconds!
Gray, freshman
Armando Montes, freshman
Derril Carr and senior
Toby Cook comprised the winning foursome that finished in 3:26.16. It was MSU's fastest 4x400m relay since the 2019 OVC Outdoor Championships and is believed to be the first relay win in coach Dixon's tenure.
Berea's Jeffrey Ozor, Caleb Wilson, Quinncey Gibson and Calib Collier-Smith were second in 3:28.52.
For the second straight week, freshman
Ginger Hayden broke her "pr" in the long jump. This time she increased it by a quarter of an inch to 17'00.25"/5.19m. She reached that mark on her fifth attempt and placed third. Unfortunately, that success did not carry over to the triple jump, where she finished fourth in 10.57m/34'08.25".
In addition to the aforementioned individuals, 10 others notched podium finishes, with four more claiming a spot in the top 10.
One race that featured impressive MSU performances was the women's 5,000-meter run. Sophomore
Abby Taylor was fourth with a "pr" of 18:47.82. It was a huge drop in time for Taylor, with her previous best at 19:23.07. Taylor was a late addition to the event since her intended race – the 3,000-meter steeplechase -- was canceled because she was the only entrant.
Senior
Laikin Tarlton followed Taylor by finishing in fifth in 19:14.15, with redshirt sophomore
Megan Bush in sixth at 19:16.42. Freshman
Taylor Allen withdrew during the race.
Unlike the women's race, the men's steeplechase took place and senior
Peyton Fairchild finished third in 9:44.87, with fifth-year runner
Jarrett Forrest grabbing fifth in 10:05.11.
Sullivan returned to run the 200-meter dash and finished 14th in 24.31. Carr was seventh in 23.07, a "pr" for him by 21-hundredths of a second. Carr also finished sixth in the 100m in 11.33, six one-hundredths shy of his top time.
Freshman
Cheyenne Stark also had one of her best meets of the season. She finished fifth in the 400-meter dash in 1:08.17 and ninth with a new "pr" of 28.10 in the 200m. It was a drop of 68-hundredths of a second off her previous top mark.
"Our middle-distance group and sprints group looked very well today. I thought they really stood out and had some solid races. The earlier races in the day had a little wind and that made it tough to compete for time," said Dixon. "Our 4x400m (also) ran well.
"We had several heat wins. Peyton and Toby both won their heats in the steeple and 800m (respectively). Derril and Cade really had some solid races in the 100m," he added. "I think the longer distance group was a little tired from racing four weeks in a row or potentially from previous workouts. That group will be ready when we (return after we) take the next week off from racing."
The women's 800m included a pair of "pr's" from freshman
Lani Baskett (2:35.39) and sophomore
Hope Harris (2:43.88). Baskett was ninth and Harris was 12th. Redshirt junior
Jennifer Ramirez led the MSU pack by placing eighth in 2:34.72. Freshman
Emily Spradlin (13th in 2:46.39) and sophomore
Natalie Curry (15th in 3:00.37) rounded out the Eagles. Singleton was scheduled to run but elected to focus on just the 1,500m.
Cook continued his outstanding spring by placing seventh in the 800m in 1:56.05. Montes also cracked the 2-minute barrier after claiming 13th in 1:57.05. Junior
Sam Lucas set a new "pr" by covering the course in 2:00.62 and finishing in 17th. Freshmen
Garrett West (23rd in 2:03.58) and
Brady Baker (24th in 2:04.25) closed out the group.
The men's 5,000-meter run featured a crowded field. Redshirt junior
Jacob Vogelpohl was ninth in 15:24.18, with senior
Kyle Embry in 10th in 15:35.99, senior
Kyler Stewart in 11th in 15:37.11, senior
Justin Bland in 15th in 16:07.36, freshman
Keghan Thompson in 16th in 16:24.57, freshman
Noah Bunting in 18th in 16:36.47, freshman
Aidan Whitsell in 19th in 16:46.11 and senior
Alex Murray in 20th in 16:51.02. Only Whitsell dropped time. He improved on his "pr" by just under nine seconds.
Sophomore
Casey Skaggs was the only other Eagle to beat her previous best time in the 1,500m. She finished 25th in 5:51.24, slicing a little more than a second and a half from her old "pr". Sophomore
Kaylyn Holman was 16th in 5:08.33 and junior
Cloe Copas was 22nd in 5:26.14 to cap off the MSU contingent.
Morehead State will take time off before final exams start on Monday, May 6. The Eagles will head out to compete in the OVC Championships from Thursday, May 9 to Saturday, May 11.
