MOREHEAD, Ky. — Morehead State cross country and track and field coach
Clay Dixon has brought in 18 new Eagles for the 2024-25 campaign. The group includes state champions, a Division I transfer and school record holders, and hails from six states. It also features individuals in a variety of disciplines including sprinters, jumpers and distance runners, marking the first time in several years that the Eagles brought in several different specialists as part of reinstituting a full-fledged track and field program.
There are nine men and nine women:
Lydia Bauer (DeForest, Wis.),
Weston Blair (Morristown, Ohio),
Brooklyn Boyce (Bolingbrook, Ill.),
Meredith Campbell (Richmond, Ky.),
Brody Coleman (Richmond, Ky.),
Natalie Cotton (Baltimore, Ohio),
Maryah Counts (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.),
Aa'Nya Freeland (Largo, Md.), Tate Glass (Alexandria, Ky.),
Preston Glassco (Dixon, Ky.),
Carter Hurley (Pikeville, Ky.),
Carter Lamb (Richmond, Ky.),
Olivia Miles (Muray, Ky.),
Liam Parido (Winchester, Ky.),
Ryan Richendollar (Frankfort, Ohio),
Aaliyah Rodgers (Ringgold, Ga.),
Mia Underwood (Radcliff, Ky.) and Mark Whitener (Cincinnati, Ohio). All but Bauer are freshmen. She is a redshirt sophomore, who is transferring from Northern Illinois.
"This is the largest recruiting class I've had (and the) largest for the program since who knows when," said Dixon. "Both Rob and (I) are excited to have a full sprints/jumps squad. It will be fun to watch them progress."
The influx of newcomers means the Eagles are expected to have their largest teams in years.
Richendollar is a graduate of Adena High School. He finished seventh in the Ohio state cross country championships as a senior and also qualified for the state's indoor and outdoor track and field championships, the latter in the 3,200-meter run. He was fourth at the regional competition and won his conference title at that distance. A highly-decorated athlete, he was a three-time all-state, four-time all-conference and four-time all-district honoree in cross country, who also picked up the Southeast District Athlete of the Year award in his final season.
Whiteoak High School's Blair has qualified for the state championship in both cross country and track and field. He earned all-conference honors in three sports, including basketball. He finished in 15th at the regional cross country meet and 67th at the state championship as a senior.
Campbell, Coleman, Lamb are all graduates of Madison Central High School, where fifth-year runner
Kyler Stewart also hails. In her senior year at the state championships, Campbell placed 18th in cross country, fourth in the 3,000-meter run indoors, and ninth in the 1,600-meter run and 11th in the 3,200m outdoors. As a junior, she was 10th in both races at the state meet. A five-time state cross country qualifier, Campbell twice finished in the top 25.
Coleman is a three-time state qualifier in cross country, who according to coach Dixon, cut significant time of his 5,000-meter and 3,200m times as a senior. On the track at the state meet, he finished 20th in the 3,200m as a senior and was a member of the 4x800-meter relay team that placed 21st as a junior.
Like Coleman, Lamb also dropped double-digit seconds off his top times in the 5,000m, according to Dixon. A four-time state cross country participant, he had three top-100 finishes. In track, he was 17th in the 1,600m as a senior.
Bauer is transferring from Northern Illinois, where she ran two seasons of track, but just one of cross country. Her best finishes in 2023-24 were 15th in cross country, sixth in the mile indoors and ninth in the 1,500-meter run outdoors. As a senior at DeForest High School, she was 39th at the sectional helping her team to a sixth-place finish in cross country and placed sixth in the 800-meter run at the outdoor track and field regional.
A multi-event performer from Liberty Union High School, Cotton has competed in cross country, sprints, hurdles and jumps. Dixon noted that she dropped a minute off her 5,000m time last fall. As a high jumper, she was 10th in the district as a junior, but as a senior won five of eight meets and finished second in two others. In the district and regional championships, she took second and ninth, respectively.
Largo High School's Freeland is a two-time state champion, winning titles in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter relays outdoors as a senior. Individually, she was second in the indoor 55-meter dash, fourth in the outdoor 100-meter dash and fifth in the outdoor 200-meter dash as a senior. In addition, last year she won regional titles in the 4x100m and 4x200m relays, and was second in both the 100m and 200m.
This past spring, Counts won two state crowns, the 400-meter dash and the 4x400-meter dash. In addition, her 4x400m relay team also captured the 2024 indoor state title. The Beechwood High School product also claimed second in the 200m, fifth in the 100m and fourth in the indoor 400m. As a junior outdoors, her 4x200m and 4x400m relays grabbed the state gold, while she took home third in the 400m and seventh in the 200m.
Glass is a former high school teammate of Eagle sophomore
Brady Baker at Campbell County High School. An outstanding sprinter, he was 19th in the 100m as a senior, and eighth as a junior and 15th as a senior in the 400m. His 4x200m relay squad also claimed 21st in the 2023 state outdoor meet.
Boyce hails from Bolingbrook High School, where she finished 10th in the sectionals in the 4x400m as a senior. Her "pr's" are 13.83 in the 100m, 28.97 in the 200m, 1:07.45 in the 400m, and 13'09.50" in the long jump.
Glassco is the third athlete in the last two years from Webster County High School, rejoining former teammates
Aidan Whitsell and
Garrett West. A three-time state qualifier in cross country, his Trojan teams placed seventh (2023), second (2022) and third (2021) during his tenure. His best finish came last year, when he claimed 13th. At the state track championships in the 800m, he was sixth as a senior and 14th as a junior. Last spring, he also took 15th in the 1,600m at that meet and in 2023 was a member of the 17th-place state finishing 4x400m team.
Hurley missed much of his senior outdoor track and field season at Pikeville High School because of an injury, but he did return in time to help his 4x800-meter relay team to a 20th-place state finish. As a junior at state, he was fifth in the 800m and 19th as a member of the 4x400m relay. At the state meet in his sophomore season, he was fifth in the 400m and ninth with the 4x800m squad. He was the regional champ in cross country as a senior and runner-up as a junior. In both seasons, his team took home the title. At the state meet, he was 30th as a senior and 48th as a junior.
Calloway County High School's Miles has had a decorated career, claiming six podium finishes in state competition in her final season. As a senior, she was third in the indoor 4x400m relay, fifth in the indoor high jump, sixth in the outdoor high jump and eighth in the indoor 400m. She also ran a leg of the sixth-place 4x200m relay team, the seventh-place 4x400m relay foursome and the 10th-place 4x100m relay quartet. As a junior, she was eighth in the 4x200m and 4x400m, 12th in the 4x100m and 20th in the 400m.
Parido hails from the same hometown and high school as coaches Dixon and Grayson Brookshire, where he was coached by Dodd Dixon, coach Dixon's father. Further cementing the connection, as a junior, Parido broke the 13-year-old record in the 800m previously held by MSU's coach Dixon. Both a track and cross country runner, he qualified for four state championships in the latter. In the outdoor track championships, he was 13th in the 800m and 15th in the 4x800m as a senior, and seventh in the 800m and 16th in the 4x400m as a junior.
An all-around outstanding athlete, Rodgers is from Heritage High School, where she was a two-time all-state volleyball player, who turned down collegiate offers in that sport to sign with MSU track. As a senior, she finished sixth in the 200m and seventh in the 100m at the regional championships. She also placed 14th in both events at the sectional meet. As a junior, she was the region runner up in the 100m and 200m, as well as third in the 4x400m and fourth in the 4x100m.
Underwood is from North Hardin High School. In her senior season, she placed 11th in the 4x200m relay and 19th in the 400m at the outdoor state championships. She finished fourth in the regional meet in the 400m and 4x200m, and fifth in the 4x400m. Showing her versatility, she also ran as part of the 19th-place 4x800m relay at the 2023 state championships. In her first state meet appearance, she was a member of the 4x400m relay that placed 22nd.
Whitener hails from the same high school as recent Eagle graduate
Micah Gray, Princeton. A three-year team member, he has "pr's" of 7.20 in the 60-meter dash, 11.34 in the 100m, 22.98 in the 200m and 57.17 in the 400m.
The Eagles are expected to bring back their entire roster except for
Justin Chavez,
Toby Cook,
Cloe Copas,
Isabella Copher,
Kyle Embry,
Jarrett Forrest,
Lilly Gray,
Micah Gray,
Sam Lucas,
Armando Montes,
Alex Murray and
Jennifer Ramirez from last cross country season.
For the second straight year, MSU will open its cross country campaign in August as the Eagles will travel to compete in the Thundering Herd Invitational on Friday the 30th at Marshall.
