MOREHEAD, Ky. – Seven members of the Morehead State track and field team call home one of the three Northern Kentucky counties that border Cincinnati. Three others are from the Queen City or its Ohio suburbs. Most of those individuals will have a chance to compete near their hometown as the Eagles are entered in Saturday's second annual Norse Track Invitational, which will be held at the Dave Schuh Track at Bishop Brossart High School in Alexandria, Ky. Northern Kentucky is the host and Biggby Coffee is the title sponsor.
MSU competed in last year's first edition of the meet and the men tied for sixth, with the women in seventh. The 12-team meet is expected to be scored again on Saturday. Besides Morehead State and host Northern Kentucky, defending men's champion Mount St. Joseph (Ohio), Xavier (Ohio), Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Wright State, Transylvania (Ky.), Thomas More (Ky.), Midway (Ky.), Kentucky Christian and Bethel (Tenn.) are slated to participate. NKU claimed the inaugural women's title last year.
Competition begins at 11:30 a.m. with the men's high jump, women's long jump, men's triple jump and the women's 4x100-meter relay.
It will be the first meet in two weeks for many of the Eagles, since last weekend's Jim Vargo Invitational at Bellarmine was canceled after day one, leaving only 14 of MSU's 36 entries able to participate.
"(It) should be a good day to compete," Morehead State head coach
Clay Dixon said. "(For) many of them, it's like another outdoor opener, since they haven't raced since EKU. So, I know they are excited."
It will be a homecoming of sorts for freshman
Maryah Counts (Ft. Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood HS), junior
Natalie Curry (Union, Ky./Ryle HS), redshirt freshman
Lauren Gooderson (Cold Spring, Ky./Bishop Brossart HS), junior
Abby Taylor (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon HS), sophomore
Brady Baker (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County HS), sophomore
Derril Carr (Union, Ky./Ryle HS), freshman
Tate Glass (Alexandria, Ky./Campbell County HS), freshman
Damien Lee (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati SCPA), redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton HS) and freshman
Mark Whitener (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton HS).
It will be especially meaningful for Gooderson, who graduated from Bishop Brossart and was unable to compete on her high school track last year because of an injury.
The meet will also feature the return of redshirt junior
Ethan Vance, who has not raced since April 27, 2024. In addition, it will be the first collegiate meet for Lee, who joined the program at the semester break and did not run in the indoor campaign. It also will be the first time sophomore
Ginger Hayden participates in the triple jump this year. She was in the event five times in 2024, including most recently the Rick Erdmann Twilight on Apr. 27th.
Last year, the Eagles made 19 podiums, highlighted by 2024 graduate
Toby Cook's victory in the 800-meter run.
Dixon has entered 38 individuals in 17 events.
Hayden will lead off the Eagle athletes with the long jump at 11:30 a.m. Last year, she was fourth in 5.03m/16'06.00". She will return for the triple jump, which will begin after the men's event finishes.
The women's Munninghoff Mile will start at 11:40 a.m. Juniors
Kaylyn Holman and
Abby Taylor, and sophomore
Taylor Allen are all entered. Last year, senior Lucy Singlton was fourth in 5:06.78, Taylor was 15th in 5:29.87, sophomore
Lani Baskett was 33rd in 6:13.40 and junior
Casey Skaggs was 34th in 6:21.50.
The men's competition will begin at 12:05 p.m. and include senior
Austin Montgomery, freshman
Ryan Richendollar, Vance and Vogelpohl. Last spring, Vogelpohl was fourth in 4:30.91, with sophomore
Keghan Thompson in seventh in 4:36.53, sophomore
Aidan Whitsell in 19th in 4:45.76 and Montgomery in 20th in 4:49.08.
The women's 400-meter dash is slated to start at 12:55 p.m. Freshman
Brooklyn Boyce, Counts, Gooderson, sophomore
Cheyenne Stark, freshman
Olivia Miles, freshman
Aaliyah Rodgers and freshman
Mia Underwood will represent MSU.
The first men's heat will be at 1:10 p.m. Glass is the lone Eagle entry.
The gun for the women's 100-meter dash will go off at 1:25 p.m. Freshman
Aa'Nya Freeland will compete for the Blue and Gold. The men's race is expected to begin at 1:35 p.m. and include sophomore
Cade Sullivan and Whiteman. Last April, Carr was seventh in 11.29 and Sullivan was 11th in 11.47.
Morehead State will have a large contingent competing in the 800-meter run. The women will begin at 1:45 p.m. Baskett, junior
Lydia Bauer, Curry, junior
Hope Harris, Singleton, Skaggs and sophomore
Emily Spradlin will toe the line. In 2024, Singleton was fifth in 2:21.17, with Holman ninth in 2:27.29, Allen 10th in 2:28.87, Harris 20th in 2:46.71, Spradlin 22nd in 2:48.52 and Curry in 23rd in 2:55.31.
At 2:10 p.m., the men's event gets underway. Baker, freshman
Weston Blair, freshman
Carter Hurley, freshman
Carter Lamb, freshman
Liam Parido and sophomore
Garrett West will represent the Blue and Gold. Last spring, West was fifth in 1:59.26, with Baker in eighth in 2:01.65.
MSU will have one entry in both the women's and men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The former race will begin at 2:30 p.m. Taylor is slated to run in either it or the mile. Freshman Brady Coleman was supposed to run in the event last week at Bellarmine, but it was canceled. He will get his first opportunity to see what he can do at 2:45 p.m.
The women's 200-meter dash is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. The same contingent that ran the 400m will be back for half that distance. That group includes Boyce, Counts, Gooderson, Miles, Rodgers, Stark and Underwood. They will be joined by Freeland, who will make her outdoor debut in the event. Last spring, Stark was 23rd in 28.85.
The men's 200m is expected to start at 3:40 p.m., with Carr, Lee, Sullivan and Whitener competing.
No Eagle is entered in the women's 5,000-meter run, which is slated to begin at 3:55 p.m., but there will be a trio of men: freshman
Preston Glassco, Thompson and Whitsell.
The day's final event is the 4x400-meter relay. The women get underway at 4:40 p.m., with the men following at 4:55 p.m. There will be two sections of each race. Morehead State has a total of six entries, including Rodgers, Counts, Underwood and Miles; Stark, Freeland, Boyce and Spradlin; and Gooderson, Singleton, Holman and Bauer on the women's side. The men's foursomes will be Sullivan, Carr, Glass and Lee; Parido, Blair, Lamb and Hurley; and Whitener, Baker, West and Richendollar.
At last year's meet, Allen,
Laikin Tarlton, redshirt junior
Megan Bush and Taylor were fifth in 4:29.74; and Holman,
Jennifer Ramirez, Stark and Spradlin were sixth in 4:34.60.
Micah Gray, Sullivan,
Armando Montes and Whitsell were the top Eagle men, placing fifth in 3:35.91. Carr, Baker,
Sam Lucas and West finished sixth in 3:36.25.
Live results will be available at the link:
https://Finishtiming.trackscoreboard.com.
The Eagles will return to action on Friday, Apr. 18, when they host their first meet since 1981 with the Morehead State Eagle Twilight. Competition will begin at 5:15 p.m. with the first of 20 events. Prior to that, MSU will have its Senior Recognition Ceremony, honoring approximately seven team members. Five to six teams are expected to participate.
