MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State last hosted a home track meet in 1981. On Friday, that date will be a memory as the Morehead State Eagle Twilight will feature six schools and 10 events and take place on the A.L. "Buck" Dawson Track inside Jayne Stadium. The first official event will begin at 5:15 p.m.
"It's kind of surreal hosting a meet. I've never hosted a track meet before, so it's been a real learning experience for me," MSU coach
Clay Dixon said. "The team is definitely excited. I think in the last day or so it began to settle in and it's just a different experience than having to travel."
Eastern Kentucky, Georgetown (Ky.), Kentucky Christian, Kentucky State and Midway (Ky.) will join Morehead State as the teams competing. In addition, several unattached athletes are slated to participate. The meet will not be scored.
Because the track has limited options for hosting some events, only the long and triple jumps; 100-meter, 200-meter and 400-meter dashes; the 800-meter, 1,500-meter and 5,000-meter runs; and the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays will be contested.
Prior to the start of the meet, MSU will hold its Senior Recognition Ceremony at 4:30 p.m., honoring
Megan Bush [Ashville, Ohio Teays Valley (W.Va.) HS],
Wes Grogan (Paducah, Ky./McCracken County HS),
Sam Lucas (Louisville, Ky./Male Traditional HS),
Austin Montgomery (Louisville, Ky./Trinity HS),
Lucy Singleton (Stanford, Ky./ Lincoln County HS),
Ethan Vance (Bardstown, Ky./Thomas Nelson HS) and
Jacob Vogelpohl (Independence, Ky./Simon Kenton HS). All have been at least four-year team members, with Grogan and Vogelpohl competing for five years.
"Being able to host a senior recognition in conjunction with a home meet is the way everyone dreams of (ending their career). The fact that this is the first time the team can do this in 40-plus years is very special," Dixon said. "They've all had tremendous careers and we appreciate their dedication to the program."
"The Fastest Kid in Town", a 50-meter dash which is open to anyone 10 & under, will take place at 5 p.m. Registration for that race will be at the track between 4:30-5 p.m.
All 44 active Eagle team members are entered in at least one event, with 25 expected to compete in two or more.
"We have goals to perform. It's looking like a great day for a meet. Temps in the 80s (are forecasted). (But it) should start cooling down around 6 or 7 p.m. Hopefully the wind (will) stay down. We are excited," Dixon said. "Sprint competition looks solid, as does some of the 5Ks."
The meet's first official event, the men's long jump, will begin at 5:15 p.m. It is one of three competitions in which the Eagles will not have an entry. The men's triple jump and men's 400m are the others. The women's long jump will follow at 5:45 p.m., with the men's triple at 6:15 p.m. and the women's triple at 6:35 p.m. Sophomore
Ginger Hayden will compete in both jumps. Last weekend at the Norse Track Invitational, she won both events. They were the first two victories of her career.
On the track, things get started with the men's 4x100m relay at 6 p.m. MSU will enter some combination of sophomore
Cade Sullivan, freshman
Mark Whitener, freshman
Damien Lee, sophomore
Derril Carr and freshman
Tate Glass.
The women's 4x100m relay will follow at 6:10 p.m. Freshman
Aa'Nya Freeland, freshman
Maryah Counts, freshman
Aaliyah Rodgers and freshman
Olivia Miles will represent the Blue and Gold.
There will be two heats of the men's 800m, with the first set to go off at 6:20 p.m. The event is expected to include sophomore
Brady Baker, freshman
Weston Blair, sophomore
Asher Jack and Montgomery. It will be Jack's first competition of the year.
The women's 800m will also have two sections. The first race will start at 6:30 p.m. Redshirt sophomore
Bella Almodovar, sophomore
Lani Baskett, junior
Lydia Bauer, junior
Natalie Curry, junior
Hope Harris, junior
Kaylyn Holman, Singleton, junior
Casey Skaggs and sophomore
Emily Spradlin are MSU's entries.
Singleton, who owns the fastest time in the Ohio Valley Conference this year at 2:12.67, is expected to challenge for the school record of 2:11.45, which was set by Natalie Norman in 2013.
The men's 400m will have two heats and begin at 6:45 p.m. The women's competition will follow at 6:55 p.m., with only one heat. Freshman
Brooklyn Boyce, Counts, redshirt freshman
Lauren Gooderson and freshman
Mia Underwood are the Eagle entries.
The entire men's 4x100m relay contingent will toe the line for the 100m dash. That group will include Carr, Glass, Lee, Sullivan and Whitener. There will be two sections, with the first starting at 7:05 p.m.
The lone heat of the women's 100m will include Freeland and sophomore
Cheyenne Stark. It is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m.
Two sections of the men's 1,500m will take place. The first group is expected to start at 7:25 p.m. Baker, freshman
Preston Glassco, freshman
Carter Hurley, freshman
Carter Lamb, Montgomery, freshman
Liam Parido, Vance and sophomore
Garrett West are Morehead State's representatives.
Singleton, Harris and Holman return for the women's 1,500m. That event will begin at 7:40 p.m. Singleton owns both the school record and the top mark in the OVC with a time of 4:32.28.
Carr, Glass, Lee, Sullivan and Whitener are again all entered in the men's 200m. There will be two heats, with the gun for the first going off at 7:50 p.m.
The women's 200m will follow at 8 p.m. Like the men's event, there will be two sections. Boyce, Counts, Freeland, Gooderson, Miles, Rodgers, Stark and Underwood are all entered.
Breaking from tradition, the 4x400m relays will not be the last events on the schedule. The men's race will start at 8:10 p.m. and include Hurley, Blair, Baker and Lamb. The women's competition is scheduled for an 8:20 p.m. start. The foursome of Bauer, Baskett, Curry and Harris is MSU's representative.
The final event of the night is the 5,000m. Both the men and women will have one heat, with the men starting at 8:30 p.m. and the women at 8:50 p.m. In a unique twist, the men's race will feature two Eagles as pacers: Glassco and Parido. Freshman
Brody Coleman, Grogan, freshman
Ryan Richendollar, sophomore
Keghan Thompson, Vogelpohl and sophomore
Aidan Whitsell are the Eagles entered.
The women's competition will include sophomore
Taylor Allen, redshirt sophomore
Christiana Brittian, Bush, freshman
Meredith Campbell and junior
Abby Taylor.
There will be an entrance fee of $10 for spectators at the meet. Parking is included in the admission fee and will be available in the main lot adjacent to the Academic-Athletic Center. Tickets to the track meet also enable fans to attend the beach volleyball or softball competitions that are also taking place on campus on Friday.
Live results will be available at:
https://milesplit.live/meets/682233.
Morehead State will still have two more meets before the OVC Championships, which will be held from May 15-17 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Next Friday and Saturday, the Eagles will travel to Louisville for the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational.
