MOREHEAD, Ky. – If Friday's Morehead State meet was the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships instead of the Jim Vargo Invitational, the Eagles would have racked up some serious points just from the steeplechase and 10,000-meter runs alone.
Alas, today's races at the Owsley B. Frazier Stadium on the Bellarmine campus in Louisville, Ky., did not count toward the OVC team standings, but it is encouraging as the Eagles work toward the conference championship in two months.
Sophomore
Abby Taylor, senior
Peyton Fairchild and redshirt junior
Jacob Vogelpohl were the clear standouts. Taylor and Fairchild competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Vogelpohl ran the 10K. All three dropped significant times off their bests as well as what they had run in that event the last time they toed the line for it at the OVCs.
The 21-team Jim Vargo Invitational was not scored.
It was another cold and overcast day at Bellarmine's track, which has been the standard for the past three Jim Vargo Invitationals, but the weather was not as bad as the last two years.
"A little cold and windy at times, but not terrible," said MSU coach
Clay Dixon. "(It was a) pretty solid day. It stayed in the mid-40s for the entire day and the wind stayed pretty calm. It would pick up every once in a while."
Despite the weather, 16 Eagles set "pr's", while two others tied their personal bests. MSU had 38 total entries.
Dixon was pleased with a wide range of performers in a multitude of events.
"It's great to see all these athletes begin to have some breakthrough races or continuing with their progression," he said. "We('ve) got a good group and they are looking to keep on getting better."
One set of racers really stood out.
"Steeples had some good days. Peyton and Abby both 'pr'd'," Dixon said. "Abby's race was actually (the) fifth fastest in school history with a 40 sec(ond) drop in her time. She has been looking great this track season."
Taylor finished the 3,000-meter hurdle race in fourth place in a time of 11:20.43. It is the second-fastest mark in the steeple in the OVC this season and nearly 41 seconds better than her previous "pr". Miami (Ohio)'s Julia Rushing won the race in 10:46.99. Taylor's Friday time would have been good enough for third at last year's conference meet. In that race, she finished in eighth.
"Going into the race my goal was to be between 11:30-12 minutes since it was a cold day and the first time I've run steeple this season. I took the first few laps conservatively and then as the race went on, I stayed with the third-place runner trying to close the gap as best I could each lap," Taylor said. "This season I have been running the highest mileage of my life and have been able to run some of the fastest times of my career. The consistency of my training has definitely played a major role in being able to drop a significant amount of time from last year to this year. My barriers still need some work but I'm excited to continue competing in steeple as the season goes on!"
Fairchild also put together an impressive race in the steeplechase. He finished in fourth in 9:41.56, an improvement of approximately nine and a half seconds. Fifth-year runner
Jarrett Forrest was not far back in seventh in 9:52.26. Johnny Sayle of Miami (Ohio) won the race in 9:13.43. Fairchild's time would him put fifth at last year's OVC meet. He finished sixth.
"Yea so a big jump, I think it was due to a mindset change. Jarrett and I are both in shape to run even faster, but we've been experimenting trying to find the right way to do it," Fairchild said. "Basically, the goal was to go out as close to five (minutes) flat for the mile as we could. I think we came through (at) like 5:05, then hold on after that and try to lose as little as possible. Fortunately for me, this plan worked really well, and I was able to hold on for the 'pr'."
Due to the physical stress on the body, the 10,000-meter run is rarely contested during the regular season. However, Vogelpohl obliterated his best time of 33:43.80, which he ran at the 2022 OVC Championships. On Friday, he finished third in 31:46.82, nearly two minutes faster than that mark. Senior teammate
Kyler Stewart also performed well, finishing in sixth in 32:12.50, which was his "pr" by slightly more than 30 seconds. Bellarmine's Nolan White won the race in 30:43.97.
"Jacob and Kyler ran good races as well in the 10K," Dixon said.
Stewart finished seventh in the 2023 OVC meet in his previous best time, but Vogelpohl's mark would have placed him about a second out of fourth place.
A moment of pre-race bonding gave Vogelpohl a boost.
"The 10K has been an event that I've struggled with every time I've run it, but coach and I both know that based on my training it's what I should be the most suited for," he said. "Before the race, a guy from Campbellsville gathered everyone around for a group prayer. It was very inspirational and centered my focus on God and being grateful to be out here. Everyone seemed to get super excited after the prayer and it just made it feel like we were all competing with each other, rather than against each other. And that attitude carried on into the race because I was able to pace with some guys for the first 5K."
As the race unfolded, Vogelpohl got added inspiration from the crowd.
"We were running as a unit, but eventually we came to the 5K mark at 16:03 and I knew that I could turn up the notch a little bit. I tried to take my turn at leading the pack, but they ended up dropping off and it was just me and God for the rest of the race," he said. "I had a lot of encouragement from coach throughout the race telling me my splits and telling me to keep pushing. My teammates, my dad and my fiancée were also lined up along the track screaming my name every lap, continuing to hype me up. So many things about the race made me realize that my success is a group effort and there are a lot of people helping me and investing in me along the way."
The 10K has been a struggle for Vogelpohl throughout his career, but it all came together on Friday.
"I ended up negative splitting with a 15:43 in the second half which is my style of racing. After years of patience, the work and the process came to fruition, and I am truly grateful," he concluded.
Only one other Eagle had a podium finish. Junior
Lucy Singleton was eighth in the 800-meter run, tying her "pr" of 2:18.08. Senior
Jennifer Ramirez finished 27th in 2:33.82, in a new "pr' by 26-hundredths of a second. Freshman
Emily Spradlin followed in 35th (2:42.88), with sophomore
Natalie Curry in 41st (2:54.12) and sophomore
Hope Harris in 42nd (3:00.83).
The men's 800m race also featured two new "pr's" for Eagle competitors. Senior
Toby Cook was 11th in 1:54.78, with freshman
Brady Baker in 42nd in 2:04.30. Senior
Austin Montgomery followed in 54th (2:12.52), with freshman
Asher Jack in 56th (2:18.38). Cook cropped 1.53 seconds off his previous "pr", while Baker cut 1.66 seconds off his.
"Toby ran 0.07 off of his personal best in the 800m but looked really well and ran a smart race," Dixon said.
Besides Taylor and Vogelpohl, no one took more time off their previous record than senior
Alex Murray in the 5,000-meter run. Murray was 39th in 16:13.32, an improvement of 34.23 seconds.
Senior
Justin Bland led the Eagles in that race, placing 32nd in 15:56.12, also his "pr" by about 14 seconds. Freshman
Aidan Whitsell was 36th (16:03.74), with freshman
Keghan Thompson in 37th (16:09.60), freshman
Armando Montes in 38th (16:10.58) and freshman
Noah Bunting in 42nd (16:39.16). Fifth-year runner
Kyle Embry pulled out of the race after several laps and was 52nd.
The women's 5,000m also featured several top MSU performances. Freshman
Taylor Allen was 19th in 18:26.01, with junior
Megan Bush 21st in 18:52.80. Senior
Laikin Tarlton also had to withdraw midway through the race and finished 37th. Tarlton was also listed on the start list for the 10,000m, but elected to run the 5K instead. Allen bettered her previous best time by 11.90 seconds, while Bush cut 1.65 seconds off her former "pr".
"Megan and Taylor ran a great 5K," Dixon said. "They worked well together in a pack and came away with more personal bests."
Three new "pr's" came in the 1,500-meter run. On the women's side, sophomore
Kaylyn Holman was 31st in 5:04.01, with junior
Cloe Copas in 43rd (5:19.96), freshman
Lani Baskett in 52nd (5:35.72) and sophomore
Casey Skaggs in 59th (5:50.75). Like Tarlton, Singleton debated which event to run and pulled out of the 1,500m.
"Kaylyn had a solid 1,500m personal best and improved by a few seconds," Dixon said.
Among the men, freshman
Garrett West was 33rd in 4:11.23, with junior
Sam Lucas 45th in 4:18.47.
Holman (2.70 seconds), Copas (1.14 seconds) and West (4.32 seconds) all dropped times to set new personal bests.
The sprinters had a good day. In the 100-meter dash, freshman
Derril Carr was 19th in 11.39, while freshman
Cade Sullivan was 23rd in 11.44. Trevecca Nazarene's Dayton Floyd also finished in 11.44, but edged Sullivan at the line to take 22nd. Both MSU runners improved their times, Carr by 0.16 seconds and Sullivan by 0.29 seconds.
The pair was also slated to run in the 200-meter dash, but Sullivan pulled out before the race. Carr claimed 18th in 23.55. Freshman
Cheyenne Stark also competed in the women's 200m, taking 32nd and tying her "pr" of 28.78.
Stark also ran the 400-meter dash, where she again placed 32nd, this time in 1:08.89. Redshirt junior
Micah Gray competed in the men's event and was 24th in 53.92.
"Derril and Cade both ran well in the 100m given the colder conditions for sprint events. Both had season bests," Dixon said.
Carr, Gray, Sullivan and West teamed to represent MSU in the 4x400-meter relay and finished ninth in 3:41.02.
The team's field representative, freshman
Ginger Hayden, was 16th in the long jump in 4.85m/15'11.00".
Morehead State will turn around and compete next at the Northern Kentucky Invitational on Friday, April 12 at Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria, Ky.
