MOREHEAD, Ky. — Morehead State coach
Clay Dixon wanted to see how his top runners would perform on a big stage against a strong field on Friday and Saturday at the Vanderbilt Invitational at the David Williams II Recreation & Wellness Center in Nashville.
They passed with flying colors.
Throughout the weekend, the six Eagles defeated numerous athletes from a wide range of high-profile Division I schools. Across the four events, the group beat runners from Arkansas State and UT Martin each six times; Belmont, Kentucky, Marshall, Mississippi State and Murray State each five times; Vanderbilt and Louisiana-Monroe each four times; Georgia Tech, Southern Miss and Tennessee Tech each three times; Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee State and Tulane twice each; and Furman and Mississippi each once
On Saturday in the mile, redshirt senior
Wes Grogan set his second "pr" in his second race of the year on back-to-back weekends after missing 14 months with an injury and senior
Lucy Singleton ran the third-fastest time in school history.
"Lucy and Wes both looked strong and relaxed. Lucy ran consistent(ly) and came away with a sub-5 (-minute) performance for her opener. She was boxed in a little when she was about to make some moves, so I think that she still has a lot left," Dixon said. "Wes' heat started well but hit the brakes after lap one. That really slowed them up and he took the lead and (he) and another guy were out front for the second half (of the race). It was unfortunate, because (Wes) just got stuck in a heat that didn't want to run fast and he had to get around a lot early on. He still has a lot left, too."
On Friday in the 5,000-meter run, junior
Abby Taylor set a "pr", sophomore
Taylor Allen dropped more than seven seconds off her race at this point last year,
Meredith Campbell ran the fastest 5K by an MSU freshman female in five years and redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl had the top finish among the entire group.
"Overall, (it was) a good meet to see what some of them can do. We haven't even touched the track so that is encouraging to see. We'll look better as we get more race specific workouts in," Dixon said.
Still, he had hoped for a little more.
"(It was an) acceptable performance. (I'd) always would like a personal best, but for January 17th, six days removed from our opener, and everything being under ice the past two weeks, we'll take it," he added.
A week after Grogan cut nearly seven seconds off his "pr", he trimmed another 24 hundredths of a second off that mark on Saturday, finishing 44th in 4:35.51.
He was second in his heat. He started out in fifth, moved in front after 709 meters, dropped to second by 1,309 meters, before being nipped at line by four-hundredths of a second. His fastest 300 meters came last.
In the 61-person event, he beat out three runners from Marshall, two from UT Martin and one each from Mississippi, Kentucky, MTSU and Mississippi State.
"(The) race went out slow. (I) ran behind the leaders for the first half and then made a move to make up some time and go for the heat win. (I) ended up getting out-leaned at the end," Grogan said. "I was happy with the way I competed but was hoping for a lot fast(er) of a time. Overall, I'm just happy to be out here traveling and racing again."
Louisiana-Monroe's Juwan Blignaut won the race in 3:58.02.
Despite competing for just the first time this season, Singleton's time of 4:59.02 was just shy of her personal best of 4:57.78, which she set last year. She started out in front but quickly fell into seventh in her heat. She posted her fastest time in the final 300, when she moved from sixth to fourth, which is where she finished. Overall, she was 23rd.
Singleton defeated the most impressive list runners. Among those she beat included: 12 from the Southeastern Conference (four each from Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt); three each from Arkansas State, Murray State, Southern Miss, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin; two each from Belmont and Georgia Tech; and one each from Austin Peay, Furman, ULM, Marshall, MTSU and Tulane.
She was the highest finisher among the Ohio Valley Conference entrants in a total field of 81.
Ole Miss' Sophie Baumann won the race in 4:40.62.
Vogelpohl was 19th overall in 15:17.16. He started fast and led his heat after both 2,300 and 2,600 meters, and was second after 4,400 meters, but slowed at the end and finished seventh. His "pr' is 15:06.33.
Despite tapering off down the stretch, he still placed ahead of three runners from Belmont, two from both Arkansas State and UTM, plus one each from Tulane and Marshall in the field of 36 entrants.
"Jacob was right on for a personal best until about 500 meters to go," Dixon said. "He locked up a bit and that cost him from running a personal best. He still looked fit but (has) just got to put a couple pieces together."
Campbell (30th in 18:33.60), Taylor (31st in 18:35.74) and Allen (33rd in 18:40.66) each competed in the 5K. Campbell was in heat two. She got as high as fourth after 500 meters but put together her fastest 300m at the end and came in 13th. It was her first collegiate race at the distance.
"Meredith was out aggressive(ly) but her heat had a group (with) just slightly better fitness than where she is right now. She paid for it that last half," Dixon said. "She'll be better with a little more work and a group to work with."
Taylor and Allen ran in heat three and finished back-to-back in sixth and seventh, respectively. Taylor reached as high as fifth place after 3,500 meters, while Allen sat in sixth for most of the first 2,600 meters. Both started fast and gradually slowed down.
Taylor bettered her previous "pr" of 18:37.91 by 2.17 seconds. Allen's "pr" is 18:26.01.
"Abby and Taylor both looked great until that last 1,000 meters. They both looked like they hit the wall that last bit but still managed better times (than) this time last year," Dixon said. "Last year, Abby was 19:23 and Taylor was 18:49 at YSU (Youngstown State) on the same weekend."
Campbell and Allen both finished in front of a runner from Georgia Tech. The trio bettered both entries from Murray State, the lone competitor from Austin Peay, plus a runner from both Arkansas State and Louisiana-Monroe. Forty-four individuals toed the starting line in that event.
Cumberlands (Ky.) was the dominant force in both 5,000m races, with four of the top eight women and four of the top 13 men. Furman's Jenna Mulhern (17:01.20) and Cumberland's Youssef Asslouj (14:10.00) were the individual winners.
Morehead State will be back in action for the third consecutive weekend when the team makes the trip on I64 to Louisville on Friday for the
PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic.
