MOREHEAD, Ky. – No Morehead State outdoor track and field Eagle has made more progress lately than junior
Kaylyn Holman and that trend continued Friday in the Billy Hayes Invitational at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind.
Holman and senior
Lucy Singleton were the team's lone representatives. Both participated in the open 800-meter run, marking the first time MSU had entries in the meet since 2019.
For Holman, it was her sixth consecutive race setting a "pr". In the opening heat, the junior standout dropped 1.32 seconds off her previous best time to finish fourth in the section. Overall, she placed 12th in 2:17.04.
MSU coach Clay Dixon called it a "perfect race."
"Perfect race by Kaylyn. Almost unbelievable," he said. "We were talking about going out in 67 (seconds) and closing in 70 (seconds), and she executed that perfectly. Let's carry that over to (the) OVC (Championships)."
Holman's previous "pr" in the event was 2:18.36, which she set two weeks ago at the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational. It was the last time she ran the 800m.
On Friday, she went out in 1:07.272 and ran the second 400 meters in 1:09.766. The performance ranked 12th in the Ohio Valley Conference this spring.
"I went out strong and went with the pack, and used that on the second lap to pass some runners to have something to work towards and not fall behind," Holman said. "I think this race was great to go to and have another chance to race. I was looking to get sub 2:18 and seeing that I almost ran a 2:16 is a great confidence boost before (the) OVC (Championships)."
Singleton ran in the second heat and also finished fourth in her race. She covered the course in 2:12.85, with the first 400m clocked in 1:03.217 and then the last half in 1:09.634.
Although she fell short of her goal to break the school record, Singleton did post her third fastest time of the year and the fourth best in the OVC this season.
Singleton placed fourth overall and was the top finisher among the OVC runners in the field.
"Lucy came out strong. She just locked up that last 150m," Dixon said. "She's at a different level of fitness right now. It will all click next week."
Washington's (Mo.) Catherine Christopher won the event in 2:10.64.
Morehead State's entire team will conclude the regular season at the OVC Championships, which will run Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, May 17 in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
