HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Well, that did not take long.
When freshman
Kalynn Pease first committed to compete for the Morehead State track and field team, it was a matter of when, not if, she would break the school long jump record, since her "pr" in high school was well over a foot farther than the MSU mark set in 1977 by Karen Jett of 18'02.25".
On Saturday at the first meet of the indoor season, the Marshall Opener on the Jeff Small Track in the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Complex in Huntington, W.Va., Pease broke the school record.
In fact, it took her just one attempt. One jump, one record.
Pease proceeded to surpass that original mark two more times, before settling for 19'04.00"/5.89m and second place. Marshall's Lara Check set both a meet and facility record with her winning leap of 20'03.75"/6.19m.
Listen to Pease discuss her day, including her record jump on MSU's YouTube channel.
Pease was not the only standout for the Blue and Gold. She was not even the only Eagle standout in the long jump. Pease, junior
Ginger Hayden and sophomore
Brooklyn Boyce all qualified for the finals out of the 17-member prelims, before finishing seventh (17'06.25"/5.34m) and ninth (16'09.75"/5.12), respectively. Hayden tied her "pr", which she set at last spring's Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships. It was Boyce's first collegiate long jump and thus also her "pr". Although only limited records exist for the event, all three registered distances that were among the best this century.
It was a great way to start the first contest of the meet and was just the first three of 16 marks which ranked among the best all-time at MSU.
Sophomore
Mark Whitener posted a "pr" and moved up the school's all-time top-five performers' list in the 60-meter dash with a 7.04. It was the fastest mark by an Eagle in over two decades. Freshman
Kyle Stepteau also made his presence known with a time of 7.20, just outside the top five list. Both Whitener and Stepteau qualified for the finals in the event but withdrew from it due to an injury. In the prelims, Whitener finished sixth, while Stepteau was 10th.
Freshman
Luke Kelly and sophomore
Tate Glass also competed in the event. Kelly was 12th in 7.23, with Glass 14th in 7.29. Glass was actually tied with Shawnee State's Cameron Cannon at 7.29, but broken down further, Glass recorded a 7.284, with Cannon registering at 7.290. It was the first collegiate 60m for both individuals. A total of 36 competitors toed the starting line.
The women's race also featured an all-time best performance. Freshman
Kennedi Alford ran the fastest 60m time for an Eagle ever at the Marshall Opener, registering a 7.80 to place eighth in the prelims. Although eight individuals qualified for the finals, Alford was supplanted by Marshall's Emma Layne for the final spot because of her heat victory. Each heat winner and the next three fastest times all advanced. Marshall's Dior Carney bested Alford by one one-hundredth of a second to snare the last at-large spot.
Junior
Cheyenne Stark placed 26th in 8.53. It was her first collegiate race at that distance. There was a total of 35 entrants in the event.
Alford and Pease came back to run the 200-meter dash. Both surpassed the meet record and notched MSU all-time top-five times. Alford finished fourth with the second-fastest mark ever by an Eagle in 25.27, with Pease in sixth (and fourth all-time at Morehead State) with a 25.47. Sophomore
Maryah Counts was 10th in 26.36, followed by freshman
Ava Claggett in 14th in 26.73, Stark in 18th in 27.15, sophomore
Olivia Miles in 19th in 27.45 and Boyce in 20th in 27.66. Redshirt sophomore
Lauren Gooderson was ahead of Stark in their heat, but with just a few meters to go, Gooderson pulled up lame and crossed the line in 30.28 for 29th.
There were 32 runners in the women's 200m.
In the men's 200m, sophomore
Mark Whitener placed eighth of 26 in 23.14.
Counts won heats in all three of her events, posting the fourth-best mark ever at MSU in the 400-meter dash, eventually finishing third in 58.89. Miles clocked a 1:00.85 in the race to place fourth. Before she was injured, Gooderson crossed the line in seventh with a "pr" of 1:01.35. There were 22 runners in the event.
The men did not have any entries in the 400m but did have five individuals compete in the 300-meter dash. Freshman
Sam Afari was set to go head-to-head with Marshall standout Chase Peterson, but Peterson false started, moving Afari to both a different lane and a different heat. The changes did not rattle him as he proceeded to be one of five to set a meet and facility record in the race. In what is believed to be the fastest 300m ever at MSU, Afari crossed the line in 34.94 and in fifth place.
Hear Afari talk about his afternoon on MSU's YouTube channel.
Freshman
Kyler Witt was the next fastest Eagle, placing 10th in 36.23. Glass followed in 12th in 36.59, with junior
Derril Carr in 16th in 37.44 and Kelly in 21st in 37.99. A total of 28 runners toed the starting line.
Junior
Emily Spradlin moved up from the back of the pack in her race in the 800-meter run, before crossing the line in second with a seven-second "pr" of 2:31.57. Making her collegiate debut, freshman
Lauren Jones, who stayed near the front the entire race, covered the distance in 2:34.77 for third place. Glenville State's Bethany Payne won the contest in 2:28.82.
Senior
Kaylyn Holman picked up where she left off in the cross country season by placing third in her first attempt at the 3,000-meter run. She finished in 10:49.56. Junior
Adi Fuller was fifth in 11:11.50, with junior
Lani Baskett next in sixth in 11:36.74 registering a "pr" by more than 14.54 seconds.
Junior
Keghan Thompson matched Holman's placing by taking third in 9:16.10. Sophomore
Weston Blair was sixth in 9:21.74, with sophomore
Brody Coleman 11th in 9:36.48.
In his collegiate debut, freshman
Jesus Mendoza-Solis covered the mile in 4:41.45 to come in fifth.
The Eagles had two entries in both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays, although the women's foursome of Alford, Boyce, Stark and Gooderson only ran three legs before pulling out due to the injury to Gooderson. Offically, they finished in seventh. The group of Claggett, Miles, Pease and Counts won its heat but finished in fourth overall in 4:12.27.
The top men's 4x400m relay mirrored the women by claiming fourth. Carr, Witt, Glass and Afari were hampered by a poor handoff between the first and second legs. They finished in 3:28.18, which still was MSU's fastest 4x400m time since May of 2024. Stewart, Kelly, Whitener and Blair, a replacement for the injured Stepteau, finished in seventh in 3:35.43.
In total, MSU had three individuals better meet or facility records, notch six top-five all-time performances and, not including first-timers, record five "pr's". The group also collected two runner-up finishes and crossed the line in third place four times.
Listen to head coach Clay Dixon discuss the Eagles' outing.
The 12-team meet was not scored.
Morehead State will take a month off from competing as it breaks for exams and then the holidays. Its next meet will be back at Marshall for the Alumni Classic on January 10.
