MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State outdoor track & field team traveled to two meets this weekend and came away with success in both.
Senior
Lucy Singleton bettered her own school record in the 1,500-meter run at the Washington (Mo.) Distance Carnival on Friday in St. Louis and freshman
Weston Blair won the 800-meter run on Saturday at the Landon Bond Classic in Berea, Ky.
It was the first time MSU went to two meets on the same weekend since April 1, 2023. Ten Eagles raced on Thursday or Friday at the Washington University meet. Five competed on Saturday at Berea.
Singleton finished fifth in the fast heat but placed seventh overall on the Bushyhead Track at Francis Olympic Field and crossed the line in 4:32.28, 1.89 seconds faster than the mark she set last year at the Rick Erdmann Twilight Invitational (4:34.17).
Singleton got boxed in early and had to fight her way through the 13-runner field, before the group thinned out and she was able to move up to fifth place.
"I started out in the race and there was a lot of movement to try and get in a good position. With around 550 meters left, I couldn't get around a girl and got disconnected from the front pack, and it was hard to get momentum back from that," she said. "I think I have more in me, but with such a packed race it made it challenging. But I'm happy to open with this and am excited to see how the rest of the season goes!"
Singleton was one of 10 Eagles to compete at Washington University, a meet that featured thousands of athletes from over 100 colleges from across the nation.
It was a windy night in St. Louis, but the weather did not seem to hamper MSU's efforts.
"Lucy was boxed in a little but still kept a solid pace to get a new 'pr' and school record. She closed strong and looked controlled," Morehead State head coach
Clay Dixon said. "(It was) windy on the back stretch. She has more in her and Tuesday was (a) tough workout."
Blair was one of six Eagles slated to run at the Berea meet on the Berea College Track. He crossed the line in 2:00.14, one-tenth of a second in front of Spalding's Caleb Stinson, to capture his first collegiate victory.
Although it was about a second and a half off his 'pr', Blair was happy with how he performed.
"The race basically played (out) how (I expected). I led the whole first lap and then probably another hundred meters after that, then got challenged by a few people. One or two got in front of me, but (as) we hit the straight stretch, I swung out and just passed everybody to win," he said. "Going into it, the plan was to win. I actually was hoping to run a better time than what I did. I'm not happy with the time but I'll take the win, move on and try to get better for next week."
In the 5,000-meter run at Washington, freshman
Brody Coleman finished seventh in his heat and redshirt senior
Wes Grogan placed eighth in his as the two led MSU among a contingent of 374 competitors.
Grogan covered the distance in 15:44.33 to claim 153rd, while Coleman crossed the line in 16:11.20 for 236th. Sophomores
Keghan Thompson and
Aidan Whitsell also ran and took 291st in 16:43.92 and 322nd in 17:26.42, respectively.
For Grogan, it was the longest he has raced on a track collegiately by nearly 3,400 meters, although he has run a few cross country meets of comparable distance and has fared well in those events. Consequently, Friday's effort was his personal best.
It also was the first collegiate 5K for Coleman.
"Most of the 5Ks were in 35 mile-per-hour winds, so it was pretty tough to gauge how true the performances were," said Dixon. "I thought Wes and Brody battled the wind well and they came away with personal bests."
Freshman
Meredith Campbell paced the Eagle contingent in the women's 5K. She was 19th in her heat and 97th overall in 18:25.88. Sophomore
Taylor Allen was 24th in her race and 147th overall in 19:07.63. Redshirt sophomore
Christiana Brittian had the best heat result, 10th, but was 163rd overall in 19:23.56. In total, there were 256 competitors in the event.
Campbell was the lone member of the group to post a "pr". She bettered her previous top time by 7.72 seconds.
"Meredith ran later in the evening, so she did not have to experience as much wind," Dixon said. "She looked good and managed a personal best."
Junior
Abby Taylor was the lone Eagle to compete on Thursday night. She placed 10th in her heat and 28th overall in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. She finished in 11:22.59, falling just over two seconds short of her "pr". There were 36 entrants in her event.
"The field went out slow, but they got back on pace after about 800 meters," Dixon said of Taylor's race. "She had some better water barrier jumps but could still save time on improving there. (It was a) solid opener in a competitive field. I think she beat more (runners) than what she was originally ranked."
Redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl was 13th in his heat and 99th overall in the 10,000-meter run. He covered the distance in 32:04.43 in a field that included 193 participants. It was his first 10K on a track since last May.
"Jacob looked strong in the 10K," Dixon said. "I was happy to see him have a solid race after missing (the) indoor OVC (Championships due to an illness) and to see him in his best event."
Fourteen intercollegiate teams competed at Berea, with MSU being the lone Division I entry. The Eagle men placed 10th with 17.5 points, while the women were 13th with eight points, although in both cases the Blue and Gold was entered in just one event.
Midway (Ky.) won the men's meet with 118 points. Maryville (Tenn.) was second with 93 points, followed by Pikeville (Ky.) with 86 points, Thomas More (Ky.) with 84 points, Asbury (Ky.) with 83 points, Union (Ky.) with 77.5 points, Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) with 47 points, Spalding (Ky.) with 32 points, Berea (Ky.) with 30 points, MSU with 17.5 points, Alice Lloyd (Ky.) with seven points, Centre (Ky.) and Earlham (Ind.) each with six points, and Kentucky Christian with two points.
On the women's side, host Berea walked away with 101 points, with Midway (93.5), Thomas More (78.5), Maryville (71), Pikeville (65), Asbury (60), Earlham (49), Mount St. Joseph (43), Centre (39), Spalding (25), Union (11), Alice Lloyd (10) and Kentucky Christian (four), joining Morehead State to round out the field.
Besides Blair, MSU had three other runners in the 800m race. Freshman
Liam Parido was fourth in 2:00.57, with freshman
Carter Hurley tied for sixth in 2:01.75 and sophomore
Brady Baker in 14th in 2:05.55. Freshman
Carter Lamb was a late scratch. There were 42 runners in the men's race.
Parido ran the event outdoors for the first time at MSU, although he has competed in the race indoors. Blair, Hurley and Baker all toed the line last week at the Eastern Kentucky Springtime Invitational. Baker was the lone member of the group to drop time off his performance at EKU. He did so by 3.46 seconds.
Junior
Kaylyn Holman continued her outstanding outdoor campaign on Saturday. As the lone Eagle woman running the 800m, she placed second in 2:22.50. Thomas More's Dyllan Hasler won the race in 2:20.70, one-hundredth of a second faster than Holman's "pr". There were 23 entrants in that event.
"(It was) good to see Weston win. Kaylyn performed well, too," Dixon said.
Morehead State will return as a complete team to compete at the Jim Vargo Bellarmine Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Apr. 4-5.
