MOREHEAD, Ky. – With the cancelation of the originally scheduled Rick Erdmann Invitational, Morehead State track and field head coach
Clay Dixon has picked up the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational as a replacement. The meet will be held at the University of Louisville's Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park in Louisville, Ky., on Friday and Saturday.
It will be the Eagles' first trip to the meet since 2022. MSU also was slated to participate there in 2020, but the competition was canceled due to the Covid-19 global pandemic. Previously, the team competed at various incarnations of the event in 2019, 2018, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2011 over the last 15 years.
Approximately 40 schools are slated to participate in the two-day, non-scored meet. Because of potential weather concerns, the competition is currently scheduled to begin on Friday at 9 a.m. on both days as part of a revamped itinerary.
Dixon is sending 10 individuals to enter six events.
"(It'll be just a) small group. (We're) just looking for a competitive environment and some fast times," he said. "(We're) hoping the storms hold off."
The Eagles will compete in two events on Friday, the 800-meter run at 3 p.m. and 3:25 p.m., and the 5,000-meter run at 5:45 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
MSU's lone event on Saturday will be the 1,500-meter run, with the women stating at 4:45 p.m. and the men at 5:20 p.m.
Field competition opens Friday's action, but the first contest on the track is the 800m. The women will include senior
Lucy Singleton and junior
Kaylyn Holman at 3 p.m.
Singleton's best time is 2:12.67, while Holman owns a top mark of 2:19.19. Both ran this past week at the Morehead State Eagle Twilight, with Singleton taking the title in 2:15.18 and Holman finishing third with her "pr". Singleton has been in the top eight of every event but one this year. She held the top times in the Ohio Valley Conference in both of her marquee events until just recently and now sits second in the 800m and 1,500m.
The men's race will follow at 3:25 p.m. Coming off his "pr" of 1:56.92 at the Eagle Twilight, freshman
Weston Blair looks to continue his improvement in the 800m.
The Eagles will conclude the day with the final event on the track, the 5,000m. Freshman
Meredith Campbell will be the lone MSU female representative. Her race will start at 5:45 p.m. Last week, she was third in 18:49.28. Her "pr" is 18:25.88.
The men's contingent will feature redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl and freshman
Ryan Richendollar. The starting gun for their competition is 6:30 p.m.
The meet will be significant for Vogelpohl. He has two individual collegiate track victories to his credit. Last weekend, he won the 5,000m at MSU (in 15:19.45) and three years ago, he captured the 3,000-meter run at the then-named Clark Wood Invitational. In that meet, he led a trio of Eagles that finished in the top five. Vogelpohl's "pr" is 15:06.33.
Richendollar also ran the 5,000m at the Eagle Twilight. He placed third in 15:46.27. His "pr" is 15:35.15.
The 1,500m will take place on Saturday, with the women's race at 4:45 p.m. and the men's event at 5:20 p.m.
Singleton and Holman will be back for their second competition. Singleton also competed in the race at the Louisville meet in 2022, when she finished a team-best 26th in 4:46.98. She won the event at Friday's Eagle Twilight, crossing the line in 4:45.51. She holds the school record at the distance with a time of 4:32.28.
Holman was second on Friday with a time of 4:51.43. Her "pr" in 4:46.61.
Four Eagles will be in the men's race, including freshman
Preston Glassco, redshirt senior
Wes Grogan, freshman
Carter Hurley and freshman
Liam Parido. Three of the four ran on Friday. Surprise winner Hurley led the way, despite running the distance for the first time collegiately. He finished in 4:09.94. Glassco was second in 4:14.59 and Parido was third in 4:14.61. Grogan owns the top time at the distance with a mark of 4:01.72. The other three set their "pr's" at the Eagle Twilight.
Live results are available at the link:
https://live.dcracetiming.com/meets/50304.
Morehead State will have one final competition before the OVC Championships, Kentucky's Jim Green Invitational, which will be held Friday and Saturday, May 2-3 in Lexington, Ky. The OVCs are scheduled for Thursday-Saturday, May 15-17 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
