MOREHEAD, Ky. – Graduate student
Aidan Massey continued his strong campaign for the Morehead State cross country team as he placed 12th among collegiate runners and ahead of every Ohio Valley Conference competitor at Friday morning's Angel Mounds Invitational. Massey's time was the eighth-best in MSU history as he led the Eagles in their final race at the Angel Mounds State Historic Site course in Evansville, Ind.
Massey ran the 8K course in 24:34.63, it was the fastest an Eagle has run his Jarrett Mattingly covered the distance at the Greater Louisville Classic in 24:17.30. His previous "pr" was 24:41.0, which he set two weeks ago at the Louisville Cross Country Classic.
"Massey is locked in and everything is going well with training. He has good momentum going into conference," Morehead State head coach
Clay Dixon said.
On Friday he beat 82 competitors from the OVC, which sets him up nicely for the conference championship in two weeks in Charleston, Ill. It was the second time he led the Eagles this season.
"The only ones that have run faster, he beat them today. So, he is one of the favorites," Dixon said of Massey's chances heading into the OVC meet. "(There) probably could be five or six others but definitely exciting to take that going into conference in a couple weeks."
He has only lost to five OVC runners this season, and he beat three of them on Friday. His time is the fourth-fastest in the league this season, and he finished in front of the three with better marks. Tennessee Tech's Carter Bradford (13th in 24:37.47), and Southern Indiana's Alex Nolan (14th in 24:39.30) and Dominick Beine (15th in 24:40.26) were right behind him. Bradford and Nolan both have faster 8K times this fall.
"Headed into the race, I knew I was in great shape and wanted to run a 'pr'. After the gun went off, I got out with the lead pack and stayed up there. We went out hard, running around 4:45 pace for the first mile," he said. "At the 5K mark, I heard I was through in 15:18. I was starting to feel it, but I knew I was having a strong race and just needed to stay tough. I battled through the next two miles to hold my position and finished hard at the line."
He credits Dixon's workout regimen for preparing him for the race.
"I saw 24:34 at the finish, and I was proud knowing coach Dixon's training paid off for me again in back-to-back races," he added. "The course was about 100 meters long, too. It was a grind, but all the hard work my teammates and I have put in really showed today. Coach Dixon has me in the best shape I've ever been in, and I can't wait to race at conference. I love this program and today was another great step forward."
Having family there bolstered his spirits, too.
"It was great to see my parents for the first time since August and that helped me get after it in the race!" he concluded.
Massey was not the only Eagle to excel on Friday.
Senior
Kaylyn Holman finished 70th in 23:08.22, senior
Christiana Brittian was 72nd in 23:15.31 and sophomore
Meredith Campbell was 75th in 23:20.84 in the women's 6K race.
"Kaylyn and Christiana ran back and forth and pushed each other through the entire race. Both closed well and looked strong," Dixon said. "Our women have a solid one to five spread and have progressed well this season."
Holman, for one, benefitted from having Brittian with her.
"I didn't feel great at the start and wasn't able to get out as fast as I would have liked. I was able to progress later in the race and that's something I have been wanting to work on," she said. "Christiana went and led our team for the first 5K, and being able to work with her and use that competitive drive in the last 1,000 meters was beneficial to both of us. Going into the next two weeks, we should be able to taper down to feel fresh and competitive at OVC."
Junior
Adi Fuller put up a career-best by finishing 81st in 23:29.48. Junior
Taylor Allen was 100th and was the fifth Eagle to break 24 minutes. Fuller was the lone MSU women to record a "pr".
Freshman
Peyton Lunsford (136tyh in 24:54.65), junior
Lani Baskett (140th in 25:05.14) and freshman
Josey Corbin (153rd in 26:23.12) rounded out the MSU finishers. Three Eagles did not finish the race: redshirt junior
Lydia Bauer, and freshmen
Addison Hill and
Sydney Filippazzo. Bauer was 162nd, Hill was 164th and Filippazzo was 168th. There were 172 individuals, including three unattached runners, who toed the starting line.
Cincinnati had the top three overall finishers, all coming in with sub-21-minute efforts. Ann Lemirisho led the field in 20:12.78. She crossed the line almost 27 seconds in front of Bearcat Claire Curtsinger.
Freshman
Josh Arnett was the second Eagle male across the line, taking 70th in 25:40.41. Sophomore
Ryan Richendollar was 83rd in 26:03.96. Junior
Aidan Whitsell was 107th in 26:23.84, with sophomore
Brody Coleman in 108th in 26:25.60. Sophomore
Preston Glassco was 124th in 26:44.22, just a hair ahead of classmate
Liam Parido in 125th in 26:44.51. Sophomore
Weston Blair was 143rd in 27:08.22. Sophomore
AJ Hawkins was 151st in 27:13.74. Junior
Keghan Thompson was 159th in 27:30.02. Freshman
Kyle Crady was 167th in 27:50.34. Junior
Brady Baker was 170th in 27:52.73. Sophomore
Carter Lamb was 173rd in 28:16.40. Junior
Garrett West was 179th in 28:31.38 and freshman
Lance Garner was 180th in 28:33.07. There were 217 runners, including 15 non-collegiate entries.
Massey, Coleman, Parido and Whitsell each had "pr's".
"(The) men had some solid personal bests. Not where we want to be, but solid progression for that pack of four and five runners," Dixon said. "I think we have had a different combination each race for our men in that four and five spots."
Like the ladies, Cincinnati runners topped the field. Nickson Kogei was first in 23:36.75, nearly 27 seconds ahead of teammate Lucas Towne.
Cincinnati ran away with the women's title, scoring 39 points. Tennessee Tech (99), Eastern Kentucky (110), Murray State (112), Southern Indiana (139), Southeast Missouri (212), Western Kentucky (221), IU Indianapolis (229), Lipscomb (247) and Evansville (265) rounded out the top 10. SIU Edwardsville (304) was 11th; followed by Northern Kentucky (318); UT Martin (326); Morehead State (353); Southern Illinois (382); Austin Peay (396); Transylvania, Ky. (464); Bellarmine (484) and Vincennes, Ind. (549).
Among the men, the Bearcats edged Lipscomb for the crown. Cincinnati finished with 44 points, followed by the Bison was 46, Southern Indiana (115), IU Indianapolis (169), Tennessee Tech (188), Northern Kentucky (199), Evansville (210), Western Kentucky (220), UT Martin (224), Southern Illinois (254), Bellarmine (267), Southeast Missouri (278), Morehead State (315), Murray State (386), SIU Edwardsville (427), Austin Peay (451) and Vincennes (479).
The OVC Championships will take place on Friday, Oct. 31, at Eastern Illinois' Tom Woodall Panther Trail in Charleston, Ill. The first race is tentatively scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET.
"Rumors are the course was slightly long. If that's true, then we had even more personal bests," Dixon added. "Regardless, we are in a good spot as we enter conference in a couple weeks."
