MOREHEAD, Ky. — Not since Justin Moakler finished fourth in 2017 has a Morehead State men's cross country runner performed better at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships than graduate student
Aidan Massey did on Friday morning on the Tom Woodall Panther Trail at Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Ill.
Massey covered the 8K course on the EIU campus in 24:29.1 to place fifth and earn First-Team All-OVC honors in the process. Massey, who entered the meet eighth on MSU's all-time top performer's list in the 8K, improved his "pr" by 5.6 seconds. However, his new time remains 1.1 seconds behind seventh all-time at MSU.
"I'm satisfied with how the race went," Massey said. "I just wanted to get out and compete today and put myself in the race. A goal I had before the season was getting first-team all-conference. With how training this season has gone, I was confident I could get it done."
Mission accomplished.
Massey started slowly and only sat 13th after the first 750 meters. However, by the 3,450-meter mark he had moved up to sixth and was a second out of second place. By 4,000 meters, he moved into fourth. At the 6,350-meter mark, he fell back to sixth but still hung with a pack of six who were battling for third. By the time the group hit the 6,900-meter mark, Massey had moved back into fourth and was just two-tenths of a second out of third. By the end, he passed two of the guys in front of him but got passed up by three others.
"I was dialed in going into the race. I went out with the front group and just held on. My parents and coaches yelling at me helped out a lot. A lot of people wearing the Morehead shirts today were rowdy, too," he said. "Crossing the finish line seeing I had a 'pr' was a good feeling. It felt nice to talk to everyone after the race, especially my parents, and it was cool to hear from people back home about the race."
"(In the) men's race, the leader went out hot. Massey stayed back with the group of 2-10 runners. The USI guy (Alex Nolan) had about a 15-second gap on the field at one point, but he eventually faded to third place. The leaders caught him with about 1K to go," MSU head coach
Clay Dixon said. "Massey made the right move and stayed with that group. He nearly had it, but he came away with a 'pr' and a fifth-place finish. He's been having a great season and excited to continue on to the 10K (at the regional championships)."
Massey was one of eight Eagles to set a "pr" on the day. However, the two teams struggled against a challenging field as the men finished seventh and the women ninth. It was a slight improvement for the men and a slight drop for the women from their 2024 performance, when the men placed eighth and the women seventh.
It was the best team outcome for the Eagle men since also placing seventh in 2022. Morehead State's women last placed ninth in 2017.
The men's field was basically clumped together in groups of two. UT Martin and Southern Indiana both scored 62 points, with the tiebreaker coming down to a head-to-head matchup between each team's top five individuals. UT Martin won the battle at No. 1, 2 and 3, to claim its first OVC crown.
Southeast Missouri, Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech also fought it out for third through fifth, with the Redhawks collecting 96 points, the host Panthers tallying 97 and the Golden Eagles registering 100. Little Rock finished with 164 points, followed by MSU with 174 points, Western Illinois with 220 points, SIU Edwardsville with 227 points, Lindenwood with 378 points and Tennessee State with 322 points.
"(The) men's race was back and forth. We were sitting in that sixth-seventh-place spot most of the race but came out in seventh. Better than last year but (it) definitely stings a bit cause we just fell short of sixth," said Dixon. "The men have progressed well this season and I think today was our fastest team average we have had in years for a single meet."
Morehead State's top five men finished in 2:08.43, for an average of 26:08.6 minutes, just 26 total seconds behind Little Rock.
Tennessee Tech won its first women's team title with 60 points, followed by Southeast Missouri with 79 points, defending champion Southern Indiana with 80 points and host Eastern Illinois with 82 points. SIU Edwardsville claimed fifth with 148 points, with Western Illinois in sixth with 150 points, UT Martin in seventh with 177 points, Little Rock in eighth with 182 points, MSU in ninth with 209 points, Lindenwood in 10th with 305 points and Tennessee State in 11th with 364 points.
"(The) women's team went out quick," Dixon said. "Our women just came out behind that bell curve. Not what we wanted; (we're) just missing a few pieces, and had some setbacks with injuries and sickness this season."
UT Martin's Luke Johnson won the men's meet in a time of 24:18.9. Tennessee Tech's Carter Bradford was second in 24:22.9, with Southern Indiana's Alex Nolan third in 24:26.0 and UT Martin's Angus Monro in fourth in 24:28.7.
Freshman
Josh Arnett trailed Massey among the MSU contingent. He finished 23rd in 25:16.7. Sophomore
Ryan Richendollar was 46th in 26:07.0, with sophomore
Preston Glassco in 53rd in 26:21.6 and sophomore
Weston Blair in 59th in 26:38.6 to round out the scoring fivesome.
Junior
Aidan Whitsell finished 61st in 26:37.5, with sophomore
AJ Hawkins in 62nd in 26:41.2, junior
Keghan Thompson in 67th in 26:51.9, sophomore
Liam Parido in 68th in 26:54.3 and sophomore
Brody Coleman in 74th in 27:18.7.
Besides Massey, Blair (7.9 seconds), Glassco (21.6 seconds) and Thompson (5.0 seconds) also set new "pr's".
There were 91 runners in the men's event.
If MSU were to hand out a Most Improved Award, it would easily go to senior
Kaylyn Holman, whose top time has dropped by three minutes and 39.7 seconds over her career. On Friday, Holman notched her best OVC finish of 24th with a "pr" of 22:26.7 in the 6K race, a year after placing 54th overall and sixth on the team with a time of 23:50.8.
Holman's time was actually faster than last year's top finisher
Laikin Tarlton, whose 22:28.3 placed 13th. She moved into 12th place on the Eagles' Top Performer's list.
Holman has led the team in four races this fall and with her Friday result set a new "pr" by 14.8 seconds. She also moved from 19th to 12th on the MSU all-time performers' list in the 6K.
"The race went really well. I felt engaged and moved with the pack. I really wanted to get into that 14th place (all-conference position) and had (my) eyes on it the whole race but wasn't able to make a move in the last 1K," she said. "One of my other goals was to get sub-22:30, so I knew going with the pack I would get carried there. Overall, it was a huge improvement from previous OVCs and (I'm) satisfied with the outcome!"
Holman was as high as 12th at the 750-meter mark and sat 18th after 1,440 meters, just six seconds out of 14th place and a spot on the all-conference team.
"Kaylyn had goals of getting top 14," Dixon said. "She was in the mix with that pack for most of the race. She stayed in that pack of 14-25th place for most (of) the race and came out with a huge 'pr' and best finish at OVC. Adi (Fuller also) looked strong."
Fuller, a junior, set a 26.5-second "pr" by finishing second on the team and in 43rd overall. She just missed the school record books. Her time of 23:03.0 was shy of 27th-place Karina Manz's 22:59.60 in 2013, which is the lowest mark MSU lists in its records.
Sophomore
Meredith Campbell was the third Eagle across the line, claiming 52nd in 23:16.2. Junior
Taylor Allen was next in 54th in 23:19.9, followed by senior
Christiana Brittian in 57th in 23:28.5.
Senior
Abby Taylor, running for just the second time this fall, finished 66th in 23:52.3. Freshman
Peyton Lunsford was 77th in 24:35.9, with junior
Lani Baskett in 82nd in 25:08.0, freshman
Josey Corbin in 84th in 25:31.8 and freshman
Sydney Filippazzo in 92nd after pulling out of the race near the halfway mark.
Lunsford and Corbin both had "pr's". Lundsford dropped 16 seconds, with Corbin slicing 38.6 seconds off their previous top times.
Southeast Missouri's Nova Ojutkangas defended her title by winning the race in 20:57.05. Runner-up Brenda Torres of Eastern Illinois finished in 21:04.24.
There were a total of 92 women in the race.
The league presented awards after the conclusion of the women's event.
Men's Awards
Athlete of the Year: Alex Nolan, Southern Indiana
Athlete of the Championship: Luke Johnson, UT Martin
Coach of the Year: Anthony Palacio, UT Martin
Freshman of the Year: Kraedyn Young, Southern Indiana
All-OVC First Team
Luke Johnson, UT Martin
Carter Bradford, Tennessee Tech
Alex Nolan, Southern Indiana
Angus Monro, UT Martin
Aidan Massey, Morehead State
Dominick Beine, Southern Indiana
Nick Cimmarusti, Southeast Missouri
All-OVC Second Team
Garrett Dumke, Southeast Missouri
Michael Atkins, Eastern Illinois
Zak Myles-Hawkins, Tennessee Tech
Jordan Smith, Little Rock
Cale Smith, Eastern Illinois
Zach Morin, Little Rock
Keagan Enicks, UT Martin
Women's Awards
Athlete of the Year: Ellie Hall, Southern Indiana
Athlete of the Championship: Nova Ojutkangas, Southeast Missouri
Coach of the Year: Peter Dalton, Tennessee Tech
Freshman of the Year: Joy Jepleting, Tennessee Tech
All-OVC First Team
Nova Ojutkangas, Southeast Missouri
Brenda Torres, Eastern Illinois
Christy Muldrew, SIUE
Hadessah Austin, Southern Indiana
Ellie Hall, Southern Illinois
Naomy Lokiles, Tennessee Tech
Makaleigh Jessee, Tennessee Tech
All-OVC Second Team
Lydia Bennett, Western Illinois
Aaliyah Joshua, Little Rock
Rylea Borgic, Eastern Illinois
Jane Lokiles, Tennessee Tech
Maggie Roy, UT Martin
Kinze Shea, SIUE
Zoe Seward, Southern Indiana
MSU will almost certainly conclude its season when it returns for the NCAA Southeast Regional on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Roger Milliken Center in Spartanburg, S.C. If the Eagles have any qualifiers for the NCAA Championship, they will advance to run at the Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday, Nov. 22.
