HUNTINGTON, W.VA. – The Morehead State men's and women's indoor track and field teams' final tune-up for the Ohio Valley Conference Championships went about as well as could be expected as the Eagles ended their regular season at the Marshall Invitational with a bang, setting a school record, claiming heat and event winners and having nearly 60 percent of the team set personal or season's bests.
The 10-team, non-scored, two-day competition ended Saturday at the Jeff Small Track in the Chris Cline Indoor Athletics Complex in Huntington, W.Va., with the Blue Gold exceeding its expectations. It also served as host Marshall's Senior Day, in which it recognized 15 individuals.
MSU coach
Clay Dixon was pleased with virtually every performance throughout the meet. Illness has been running through the team recently and it was a factor for many of those who fell short of their goals.
Hear coach Dixon's overview of the competition on the Eagles' YouTube channel.
Saturday's highlight was senior
Lucy Singleton ending her year-long pursuit of the school record in the women's mile, eclipsing the 44-year-old mark held by MSU Hall of Famer Hopey Caudill by 4.51 seconds.
Singleton could not catch Hannah Wyler of Marshall in the first heat, but the Eagle standout finished second overall in 4:50.19, more than four and a half seconds ahead of third-place finisher Sara Doughman of Ohio (4:54.75). Wyler set a personal best with a winning time of 4:59.59.
At the 2024 meet, Singleton became the first Eagle woman to post a sub-5-minute mile in 43 years. She finished third overall in 4:57.78.
Singleton also completed the mile-800-meter run double for the first time this season, a combination she is expected to do at the OVC meet in 10 days.
In the latter race, approximately two hours and 15 minutes after she completed the mile, she finished in fifth with a time of 2:16.44, slightly ahead of her fourth-place performance at last year's meet (2:16.42) and 21-hundredths of a second off her season best.
Listen to Singleton discuss her day on MSU's YouTube channel.
Near the end of the meet, freshman
Meredith Campbell posted the best time for a Morehead State female in six years in the 3,000-meter run, winning the event in 10:13.50.
Campbell pulled ahead early and gradually built on her lead throughout the race to claim her first career victory. She obliterated her previous "pr" of 10:30.86.
See Campbell talk about her race on MSU's YouTube channel.
Freshman
Weston Blair exploded down the home stretch to win his heat of the 800-meter run and post a new "pr" in the event by 1.56 seconds.
He held off freshman teammates
Liam Parido and
Carter Lamb, to finish eighth in 1:58.43. Parido was ninth in 1:58.94 and Lamb 10th in 1:59.89. Both set new "pr's" and went under two minutes for the first time.
Blair also ran a leg of the 4x400-meter relay.
Watch Blair reflect on his Saturday performances on MSU's YouTube channel.
Sophomore
Brady Baker was 13th in 2:01.83, with sophomore
Garrett West in 16th in 2:04.86. It was a season's-best time for Baker. He was 13th last year in 2:06.78.
All seven of the Eagles in the 400-meter dash set "sb's" or "pr's". Freshman
Tate Glass was 12th among the men in 51.59. Freshman
Olivia Miles led the women by placing 14th in 1:00.44. Freshman
Aaliyah Rodgers was 16th in 1:01.16, with freshman
Mia Underwood in 18th in 1:01.56 and redshirt freshman
Lauren Gooderson in 24th in 1:03.96, freshman
Brooklyn Boyce in 26th in 1:05.37 and sophomore
Cheyenne Stark in 27th in 1:05.39. Boyce had the largest time drop at 1.66 seconds. It was the first 400m for Gooderson since high school.
Like Campbell and Blair, Rodgers and Gooderson each won their heat in the 400m. Gooderson also won her heat in the 200-meter dash.
A total of six Eagles won their heat, including freshman
Carter Hurley in the mile. Hurley finished 12th overall in 4:38.05. Redshirt senior
Wes Grogan was the first MSU athlete over the line in that event, taking 10th in 4:36.05. Senior
Austin Montgomery also set a "pr" after finishing 14th in 4:45.55. Montgomery dropped more than 12 seconds off his previous best mark.
In the women's race, junior
Kaylyn Holman was 12th in 5:21.79, with classmate
Abby Taylor 14th in 5:26.40. It was the third time Holman ran the event at the meet, finishing 15th in 2024 and 31st in 2023. She cut more than five seconds off her previous "pr" and more than 24 seconds off her race last winter.
Holman also competed in the 800m and finished 17th in 2:27.23. The Eagles had a large contingent in the women's race, including sophomore
Lani Baskett (21st in 2:35.72), junior
Lydia Bauer (22nd in 2:36.29), sophomore
Emily Spradlin (24th in 2:43.07), junior
Hope Harris (25th in 2:48.81) and junior
Casey Skaggs (27th in 3:00.62). It was a "pr" for Bauer and Skaggs. The latter of whom dropped nearly seven seconds off her previous top effort. Junior
Natalie Curry was a scratch.
It was Spradlin's first indoor race of the season. Last year, she was 25th in 2:38.64. Harris moved up three spots after placing 28th at last winter's meet.
Two "pr's" were set in the 200m. Stark was 20th in 27.94, with Gooderson 21st in 28.30. Freshman
Brooklyn Boyce was 23rd in 28.48, 23-hundredths of a second off her top mark.
It was a huge improvement for Stark, who last year was 45th in 29.19.
Redshirt junior
Megan Bush followed Campbell in the 3,000m by taking fifth in 11:36.43. Among the men, sophomore
Keghan Thompson was seventh in 9:13.36, while freshman
Brody Coleman used a strong last lap to move up to eighth with a season's best of 9:15.19. His previous top time was a 9:27.87.
Redshirt sophomore
Christiana Brittian placed second in a small field in the 5,000-meter run. She blew away her previous "pr" of 19:52.26 by recording a 19:35.80.
Redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl was among the leaders for much of the men's race but gradually settled for fourth with a time of 15:18.56. He finished fifth in 15:07.02 last year. Sophomore
Aidan Whitsell claimed 12th in 16:20.94.
Freshman
Mark Whitener tied his "pr" of 7.18 in the 60-meter dash to grab 14th. Freshman
Aa'Nya Freeland was 18th in the women's race in 8.09.
The Eagles had mixed success in the 4x400-meter relay. The women's foursome of Rodgers, Underwood, Freeland and Miles took fourth in a season's best time of 4:05.64. The top men's quartet were Grogan, Blair, Lamb and Baker, who finished in third with a 3:36.61. The other Eagle entry of Glass, Parido, Whitener and West pulled out of the race on the final lap and tied for fifth.
Sophomore
Ginger Hayden was the lone competitor in action on Friday. She finished eighth in the long jump in 4.98m/16'04.25". Last year, she placed 10th.
Sophomores
Derril Carr and
Cade Sullivan were late scratches in both the 60m and 200m due to illness.
MSU will have 10 days before it returns to action for the OVC Championships, which is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 25 and Wednesday, Feb. 26 in Indianapolis, Ind.
