MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State's women's track and field team has been led by the efforts of senior
Lucy Singleton all year, but right on her tail is junior
Kaylyn Holman, and that was again true on Friday and Saturday at the University of Louisville's Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational held at the Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park in Louisville, Ky. It was the team's eighth trip to the meet in the last 15 years, but its first since 2022.
In Friday's first event, the 800-meter run, Singleton placed sixth overall and third among collegians in 2:11.78, just 33-hundredths of a second off the school record. It was her "pr" and the top time in the Ohio Valley Conference this season, while Holman also had a "pr" of 2:18.36, finishing in 30th of the 69-person race that included a total of 13 runners from the OVC. The top collegiate runner clocked a 2:11.49, just 29-hundredths of a second ahead of Singleton.
Coach
Clay Dixon needed just a few words to summarize his thoughts.
"Kaylyn and Lucy are just rocking," he said.
As for Holman, it was her "pr" by 83-hundredths of a second, which she set in the last race, the Morehead State Eagle Twilight, just a week ago.
"For the 800m, I really wanted to go and be consistent, which I did well by going 68-70 (seconds in her laps). I was excited to have people near me and I knew if I ran with them, I should be able to break 2:19," she said. "I felt good finishing the 800m and had a big surge with 200 (meters) to go to get me to the 'pr'."
But Holman really stood out in Saturday's 1,500-meter race, when she moved onto MSU's list of top five all-time performers for the distance. She finished 14th in 4:42.49, setting another "pr", this time by 4.12 seconds. She bested former Eagle Kim Reiland's 2006 mark of 4:42.78 to move into fifth.
"My goal for the 1,500m was to get into the top five (all-time at MSU). So, I knew I had to (get) my splits even, if that meant getting left (behind) or taking the lead," she said. "Two hundred (meters) in, I knew if I wanted it, I had to make it my race, so taking the lead at that moment was the best move. I felt controlled through the 1,100 (meter mark) and knew it was either now or never, so that was where I really gave it everything."
Singleton's 1,500m also was impressive as she finished 48-hundredths off her season best/school record. Her time of 4:32.76 is third fastest in the OVC this spring. She placed third out of 56 competitors, which included a total of 11 from the OVC. Marshall's Hannah Wyler won the race in 4:25.93.
"A lot of good progress was made today," Dixon said of Saturday's performances. "Kaylyn looked great and had a huge day. Lucy and her heat went out hot and I think everyone in her heat could have run a good three or four seconds faster if it was better paced."
Freshman
Weston Blair was the lone Eagle entry in Friday's 800m men's race. He finished 44th in a respectable 1:57.90.
"Weston had a good race," said Dixon. "I'm glad he put two good races back-to-back."
Saturday's men's 1,500m also featured positive results. Redshirt senior
Wes Grogan led the way by placing 27th in 4:00.86. Freshman
Liam Parido was 34th in 4:05.29. Freshman
Carter Hurley, fresh off winning the 1,500m in his first-ever attempt at the Morehead State Eagle Twilight, crossed the line in 28th in 4:08.19 and freshman
Preston Glassco was 48th in 4:12.53. It was a "pr" for all four Eagles.
"The guys all ran solid races and made some good progress," Dixon said.
MSU had good outcomes in four of its six races, but Friday's 5,000-meter run did not match up to expectations. Freshman
Meredith Campbell placed 33rd in 19:19.42, well off her top time, while redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl did not fare any better, finishing 36th in 15:27.86.
"(They were) just tired from racing, I think," Dixon said of the 5,000m performances.
On top of that, freshman
Ryan Richendollar did not start the race.
"We scratched him when they started changing the schedule around," Dixon said of Richendollar.
The weather was expected to be a potential issue but turned out not to be according to coach Dixon.
"(The) weather was fine. It was raining, but not terribly," he said.
Morehead State will return to action for its final meet of the regular season, when the club travels on I-64 East to Lexington for next weekend's two-day Jim Green Invitational. It will be the seventh consecutive week the team will have had a competition. The OVC Championships will conclude the campaign and take place from May 15-17 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
