MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the second straight year, the Morehead State men's and women's cross country teams will run at Marshall's Thundering Herd Invitational. Last fall, it was the second meet of the season, this time it's the opener.
Like last September, the races will be held at the Kennedy Center YMCA Complex paralleling the Ohio River in Huntington, W.Va. Unlike last year, the men will run a 5K instead of an 8K. It will be the fourth straight campaign the first event for the men will be 5K. The women's competition will be the same 5K distance as in 2023.
The women's event will start Friday at 6:30 p.m., with the men to follow at 7:15 p.m. Times were moved forward from the initial schedule due to heat.
Five teams are expected to compete. West Virginia Tech, Rio Grande and Shawnee State will join MSU and host Marshall. Seventy-two men and 46 women are entered.
It will be the second consecutive year Marshall will hold the meet. It had been 30 years since it last hosted one.
In 2023, Marshall captured the women's team title with 40 points. MSU scored 52 points, followed by Davis & Elkins with 57 points, West Virginia Wesleyan with 118 points, Fairmont State with 137 points and Glenville State with 144 points.
Davis & Elkins had seven of the top-10 finishers and acquired 17 points to take the men's crown. Marshall was second with 52 points, followed by MSU with 83 points, West Virginia Wesleyan with 118 points, Fairmont State with 164 points, Glenville State with 169 points and West Virginia Tech with 187 points.
Eagle coach
Clay Dixon is sending 17 men and 13 women. In addition, redshirt sophomore transfer
Lydia Bauer is expected to run unattached.
"(The) team is excited and practices have been going well. It will be fun to let them go after it," he said. "The course is the same as last year, just shorter for the men. Mostly around soccer fields and flat."
The MSU women's contingent will include sophomore
Taylor Allen, sophomore
Lani Baskett, senior
Megan Bush, freshman
Meredith Campbell, freshman
Natalie Cotton, junior
Natalie Curry, junior
Hope Harris, junior
Kaylyn Holman, senior
Lucy Singleton, junior
Casey Skaggs, sophomore
Emily Spradlin, fifth-year student
Laikin Tarlton and junior
Abby Taylor.
The Eagle men's entries are sophomore
Brady Baker, freshman
Weston Blair, fifth-year student
Justin Bland, sophomore
Noah Bunting, freshman
Brody Coleman, fifth-year student
Peyton Fairchild, freshman
Preston Glassco, freshman
Carter Hurley, freshman
Carter Lamb, senior
Austin Montgomery, freshman
Liam Parido, freshman
Ryan Richendollar, fifth-year student
Kyler Stewart, sophomore
Keghan Thompson, fifth-year student
Jacob Vogelpohl, sophomore
Garrett West and sophomore
Aidan Whitsell.
Last fall, Tarlton claimed fifth after covering the course in 18:21, with Singleton in eighth in 18:31 and Allen in 10th in 18:51. Tarlton's time was the fastest by an MSU woman since Oct. 27, 2018, when three ladies posted sub-18:21 marks. It was the 15th-best 5K in school history.
Taylor (17th in 19:18), Bush (26th in 19:38), Skaggs (48th in 21:27), Holman (53rd in 22:09), Spradlin (55th in 22:51), Curry (60th in 23:57) and Harris (62nd in 24:11) also ran last year.
All 15 Eagle women dropped significant time off their opening-meet performance.
For the men, Vogelpohl topped the Eagles in 14th in 25:28, with Fairchild just behind in 15th in 25:35. It was the first sub-26-minute 8K's in each of their careers.
Stewart (22nd in 26:11), Thompson (31st in 26:53), Bland (34th in 27:01), Whitsell (42nd in 27:31), West (44th in 27:37), Bunting (47th in 27:47), Baker (61st in 29:33) and Montgomery (62nd in 29:54) will all make repeat appearances at the meet.
Live results will be available at the link:
2024 Thundering Herd XC Invit. - Aug 30, 2024 | KVT & FOA (anet.live).
MSU's next meet will be the Southern Showcase on Friday, Sept. 13 in Huntsville, Ala.
