MOREHEAD, Ky. — The Morehead State men's and women's cross country teams return to the site of their most successful meet of the season when they compete in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships on Friday morning at Eastern Illinois' Tom Woodall Panther Trail in Charleston, Ill. The men's 8K race will begin at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the women's 6K event at 11 a.m. ET. The weather is expected to be sunny and in the 40s.
It will be the 65th championship for the men and the 47th for the women. It is the second straight year the meet will be held on a Friday morning. This season, the MSU men have run in three 8K races, while the women have competed in two 6K events.
On September 5, both Eagle squads placed second at the seven-team EIU Walt Crawford Open. Eastern Illinois is serving as the host for the first time since 2017. That season, the men were second and the women were ninth.
Although at that September competition graduate student
Aidan Massey was not the men 's team's leader, he has topped the squad in every meet since and most recently was named the OVC's Runner of the Week after beating 82 league competitors at MSU's last meet, the Angel Mounds Invitational, two weeks ago.
Massey led the Eagles in the two races since the Walt Crawford Open and this season he has either beaten or run a faster time than every OVC athlete but one and he figures to be a strong contender to win the individual title.
Massey has only lost to six OVC runners this fall. He owns the fifth-fastest time (24:34.63) in the league this season. Tennessee Tech's Carter Bradford, and Southern Indiana's Alex Nolan and Dominick Beine were right behind him at Angel Mounds and have run faster 8K times this fall. Only UT Martin's Angus Monro has run faster and not lost to Massey.
"Massey has been looking great all season. He is definitely one of the best in this field and can be a real threat for that top spot," MSU coach
Clay Dixon said.
Bradford, Nolan, Beine, Monro, Eastern Illinois' Michael Atkins, UT Martin's Luke Johnson, Lindenwood's Isaac Ndiwa, and SIU Edwardsville's Tanner Emerson and Ian O'Laughlin are among those expected to contend with Massey for the title. Among those entered this year, Nolan was the highest finisher in the 2024 race, placing eighth in 24:35.6. Monro was ninth in 24:36.7.
The Eagles have entered 10 men and 10 women in Friday's competition. All 11 men's and women's teams will be represented in the field. It is the second largest number of squads since there were 12 between 2012 and 2020. As many as 110 individuals are expected in each race.
Last year in Martin, Tenn., the MSU women finished seventh and the men eighth. Southern Indiana claimed both team titles.
Previously, the Eagle men placed ninth (2023), seventh (2021 and 2022), fifth (2020, 2019, 2018 and 2015), third (2016) and second (2017) over the last 10 years. The women were ninth (2017 and 2016), seventh (2022 and 2019), sixth (2023, 2021, 2020 and 2015) and fourth (2018).
"Let's go out there and race. (It's) gonna be a dogfight fight, especially those middle positions in the team race," Dixon said.
Both MSU squads have been crowned team champs twice, the men in 1988 and 1995, and the women in 1979 and 2000. In its history, Morehead State has finished among the top four men's teams 32 times, while the women have reached that mark on 16 occasions.
The Eagles also have had individual winners: Jeff Faith (1996), Susie Anderson (2000) and Karen Lutes (2001).
Last year's leaders were
Laikin Tarlton, who earned Second-Team All-OVC honors by finishing 13th in 22:28.3, and
Jacob Vogelpohl, who was 27th in 25:26.7. Both have since graduated. Garrett Watts (sixth in 2022) was the men's team's last podium finisher.
Only one individual champion will return to defend the title. Southeast Missouri's Nova Ojutkangas (20:58.6) is back. Southern Indiana's Brady Terry (24:10.3) has graduated.
The other top returning females from last year's meet are Tennessee Tech's Rylee Wells (second in 21:37.1); Southern Indiana's Ellie Hall (fifth in 21:44.8), Zoe Seward (sixth in 21:49.3) and Hadessah Austin (eighth in 21:56.2); Eastern Illinois' Brenda Torres (seventh in 21:53.4); and Little Rock's Aaliyah Joshua (ninth in 21:56.7).
Freshman
Josh Arnett, sophomore
Ryan Richendollar, junior
Aidan Whitsell, sophomore
Brody Coleman, sophomore
Preston Glassco, sophomore
Liam Parido, sophomore
Weston Blair, sophomore
AJ Hawkins and junior
Keghan Thompson will join Massey as the Eagles' men's entries.
Senior
Kaylyn Holman, senior
Christiana Brittian, sophomore
Meredith Campbell, junior
Adi Fuller, junior
Taylor Allen, freshman
Peyton Lunsford, junior
Lani Baskett, freshman
Josey Corbin, senior
Abby Taylor and freshman
Sydney Filippazzo will represent the MSU women.
In the Eagles's last meet, the Angel Mounds Invitational, the men finished 13th out of 17 teams, while the women were 14th out of 19 clubs. Massey was 12th in the men's race, while Holman was 70th in the women's competition.
Massey ranks among Morehead State's top all-time 8K performers, sitting eighth. Arnett is just outside of the top 20 but likely within the top 25. Campbell (15th), Taylor (tied for 16th), Holman (19th) and Brittian (21st) all rank among the top 25 in the 6K.
At last year's men's OVCs, Richendollar was 39th (25:45.6), Thompson was 64th (26:47.6), Whitsell was 68th (27:06.4), Glassco was 72nd (27:20.7) and Coleman was 73rd (27:38.6). For the women, Allen was 29th (23:01.8), Campbell was 38th (23:12.1), Taylor was 52nd (23:43.4), Homan was 54th (23:50.8), Brittian was 76th (25:05.5) and Baskett was 84th (27:00.2).
None of the men have run in more than one OVC Cross Country Championship. However, in 2023, Brittian was 45th (23:26.41), Taylor was 55th (23:45.51) and Allen was 70th (24:22.50). In 2022, Brittian was 56th (24:48.9), with Taylor in 60th (25:01.7) and Holman in 85th (did not finish).
This fall, Arnett and Richendollar have each led the men once, while Holman has topped the women three times, with Fuller doing so once.
The men's "pr's" are: Massey (24:34.7), Arnett (25:13.8), Richendollar (25:42.4), Hawkins (25:44.8), Whitsell (26:23.9), Coleman (26:25.6), Thompson (26:34.9), Blair (26:36.5), Glassco (26:42.2) and Parido (26:44.6). All but Hawkins and Thompson set their "pr's" this fall.
The women's "pr's" are: Campbell (22:33.5), Taylor (22:38.6), Holman (22:41.5), Brittian (22:45.8), Allen (23:01.8), Fuller (23:29.5), Baskett (24:43.1), Lunsford (24:51.9) and Corbin (26:10.4). Allen, Campbell and Taylor all set their "pr's" in a previous season. Filippazzo has run in just one 6K race and did not finish.
For the fourth straight year, no OVC school appears in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's regional rankings entering the championship meet.
After both races, the Athletes of the Championships, Coaches of the Year and the First Team and Second-Team all-conference selections will be recognized during an awards presentation. The top seven finishers in each gender will be on the first team, with the next seven making the second team. The two individual winners will be recognized as the Athlete of the Championship.
The conference announced its seasonal awards for Male Athlete of the Year (Nolan), Female Athlete of the Year (Hall), Male Freshman of the Year (Kraedyn Young, Tennessee Tech) and Female Freshman of the Year (Joy Jepleting, Tennessee Tech) on Thursday.
To follow live results, click
https://milesplit.live/meets/710791. For the OVC Championships Central page, click
https://ovcsports.com/tournaments/?id=57. There will be no live video.
Morehead State will next compete in the NCAA Southeast Regional on Friday, Nov. 14, in Charlottesville, Va., at a time to be determined. If anyone advances to the NCAA Championships, they will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Columbia, Mo.
