LEXINGTON, Ky. – Morehead State track and field's junior
Kaylyn Holman did it again.
One week after moving into fifth place on the MSU top five all-time performance list in the 1,500-meter run, Holman jumped up to fourth after recording a 4:39.68 on Friday at the two-day Jim Green Invitational, which was held at the UK Track and Field Complex in Lexington, Ky. She finished 17th overall.
At last week's Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational, Holman was clocked in 4:42.49, a "pr" by 4.12 seconds. Friday's result pushed her ahead of Natalie Norman's top time of 4:39.90 in 2013. Among those she is chasing is senior and school record holder
Lucy Singleton, who did not compete in Friday's race.
How awesome has Holman been recently? She ran 20 seconds faster than her time at the 2024 Jim Green meet and Friday's 800-meter split was better than her "pr" at that distance, which she set at last year's Invitational.
"My goals for the race were to work with the pack since this was really the first opportunity to do so this season. I was really more focused on running a competitive race and being with the faster competition (than I was on my) time this week," Holman said. "When I crossed the line and saw 4:39, I was just honored to hit that next milestone."
Holman was not the only standout; freshman
Ryan Richendollar had an outstanding performance on Saturday in the 5,000-meter run. He finished 13th in 15:09.14, a "pr" by slightly over 26 seconds.
"My strategy was pretty much (to) get out hard and run the first mile around (the) 4:40s and try to find some other guys that were pacing around 72-74 (seconds) per lap and stick with them. But after the first couple laps, I fell off the group in front of me and was left running solo for multiple laps," he said. "My mind was set on keeping the gap to a minimal (amount of time). Eventually a group of boys from Indiana dialed up the pace and surged past me. Unable to surge with them, I set my sights on catching one of the guys in the group that was closest. For maybe three laps, I pushed to catch him and by the finish I got him."
Weather was an issue both days. On Friday, there was a delay of just over an hour for lightning. On Saturday, rain fell during the entire afternoon, intermittently pouring.
"Our (200-meter) girls were on the line, then it started," said Dixon about the lightning.
Otherwise, the weather had little impact on some Eagles.
"The rain felt great," Richendollar said. "(It) kept me cooled off, so no complaints there."
Dixon was pleased with the results despite the challenges faced by the adverse conditions.
"Overall, a solid weekend," he said. "This season has definitely been dampened by the weather (wind and storms) but we have managed great performances thus far."
The rain got so bad by the end of Saturday that most of the teams, including MSU, pulled out of the 4x400-meter relays.
It was the Eagles' sixth appearance in the last seven years at the two-day meet that featured 17 teams in this edition and was not scored. Over the last three trips, the Blue and Gold recorded double-digit "pr's" twice and had 15 top-10 finishes in 2023. The 2024 competition featured 25 "pr's".
Dixon was pleased with the number of "pr's" this weekend.
"Today I was happy to see the women's 400m's all pretty much be at that 'pr' range. (The) men's 800m looked solid. (The) highlight might have been Ryan and Aidan (Whitsell). Both had 26-second (Richendollar) and 21-second (Whitsell) personal bests," he said. "(On Friday), (the) 1500m's (had) big 'pr's'. Wes (Grogan went) sub-four (minutes). Kaylyn (ran the) fourth fastest (time) in school history! Most of our 1500m's ran personal bests. Abby (Taylor) ran a new 'pr' in the steeple, as did Brody (Coleman)."
Dixon singled out Friday's performances of junior
Abby Taylor and freshman
Brody Coleman in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Taylor finished seventh in 11:18.96, while Coleman was 10th in 10:16.46. Both were "pr's". Taylor finished eighth in 2024 (11:24.26) and second in 2023 (12:18.80). Her previous "pr" was 11:20.42. Coleman's previous "pr" was 10:24.09.
Seven Eagles set "pr's" in Friday's 200-meter dash. Five of those came in the women's race. Freshman
Aaliyah Rodgers was the team's top overall finisher, winning her heat and taking 27th in 26.13. Classmate
Aa'Nya Freeland was right behind in 28th in 26.14, with freshman
Maryah Counts in 29th in 26.53. Rodgers set a "pr", while Counts was one-hundredth of a second off her top mark. Counts also placed second to Rodgers in her heat.
The rest of the Eagle contingent finished between 31st and 35th. Freshman
Olivia Miles was 31st in 26.68, redshirt freshman
Lauren Gooderson was 32nd in 26.97, freshman
Mia Underwood was 33rd in 27.14, sophomore
Cheyenne Stark was 34th in 27.28 and freshman
Brooklyn Boyce was 35th in 27.42. Miles, Underwood, Stark and Boyce all set "pr's".
Five men represented the Blue and Gold, with freshman
Mark Whitener leading the way. He crossed the line in 31st with a "pr" of 22.58. Sophomore
Derril Carr was 35th with a "pr" of 22.75. He was 56th last year in 23.12. Sophomore
Cade Sullivan also improved over his 2024 performance when he was 58th in 23.49. On Friday, he was 34th in 22.73. Freshman
Tate Glass was 37th in 23.06. Freshman
Damien Lee was 39th in 23.81.
Friday's 1,500m also featured six "pr's". None were more significant than redshirt senior
Wes Grogan breaking the 4-minute barrier. He finished third in his heat and 46th overall in 3:59.84, about one second below his previous "pr". In 2022, Grogan was 30th in 4:06.86. Redshirt senior
Jacob Vogelpohl also set a "pr" placing 51st in 4:02.18. He was 28th in 4:05.71 in his previous appearance in 2022. Freshman
Preston Glassco set a "pr" as well. He placed 56th in 4:11.64. Sophomore
Garrett West finished 57th in 4:12.15.
After Holman, freshman
Meredith Campbell was next across the line, notching a "pr" of 5:00.36 and finishing 25th. Redshirt sophomore
Christiana Brittian ran her first 1,500m and finished 26th in 5:00.61. Two years ago, she was sixth in the 3,000-meter run. Sophomore
Taylor Allen was 27th in 5:03.81. Last year, she was 39th. Junior
Natalie Curry was 31st in 5:59.76.
Sophomore
Ginger Hayden began the meet by placing 16th in the long jump with a leap of 4.98 meters (16'04.25"). On Saturday, she tied for ninth in the triple jump, although fouled on all three of her attempts.
Richendollar was not the only one to make a big splash in the 5,000m. Sophomore
Aidan Whitsell also dropped more than 21 seconds after finishing 15th in 15:36.66. Last year, he placed 24th in 16:55.01. Sophomore
Keghan Thompson was 20th for the second year in a row, but on Saturday, he cut 4.44 seconds off his 2024 time, crossing the line in 16:04.70.
Six of the seven women's 400-meter runners raced within three-quarters of a second of their "pr's". Counts followed up her second-place heat finish in the 200m by taking second in her section of the 400m. She was 24th in 1:01.72. Miles was nine-hundredths of a second off her "pr" after clocking a 1:00.08 and claiming 22nd. Gooderson had the biggest time drop, 1.12 seconds. She finished 25th in 1:01.89. Rodgers set a "pr" of 1:00.42 and placed 23rd. Boyce also set a "pr", finishing 29th in 1:04.74. Underwood was 26th in 1:02.13 and Stark was 30th in 1:06.05. Last year, Stark was 54th in 1:07.54.
On the men's side, Lee was 23rd in 55.43 in his first 400m.
Freeland led the Eagle contingent in the 100-meter dash. She was 10th in 12.91. Whitener was 24th in 11.22 to pace the men. Sullivan, who was disqualified in the race last year, came in 29th in 11.38.
Singleton's pursuit of the school 800m record will continue for two more weeks. She finished fourth in 2:13.10. Last year, she was eighth in 2:18.03. The year before, she was third in 2:15.89. Junior
Lydia Bauer clocked a "pr" after claiming 16th in 2:33.44. Sophomore
Lani Baskett placed 19th in 2:36.29. She was 42nd last year in 2:40.11. In her final collegiate race, junior
Hope Harris placed 20th in 2:45.31.
Three Eagles covered the men's 800m race in under two minutes, while sophomore
Brady Baker came within 22 hundredths of a second of that achievement (2:00.22). He cut more than a second off his "pr" and placed 22nd. In 2024, he was 19th in 2:02.90.
Freshmen
Carter Hurley (17th in 1:56.46),
Liam Parido (19th in 1:58.60) and
Carter Lamb (21st in 1:59.70) all set "pr's". Hurley made the biggest jump, taking exactly two seconds off his top time. Freshman
Weston Blair rounded out the group by placing 23rd in 2:04.48.
Saturday's first action on the track came in the 4x100-meter relays. The men's combination of Sullivan, Whitener, Carr and freshman
Tate Glass placed sixth in 43.01. The women's foursome of Freeland, Rodgers, Counts and Miles was seventh in 50.11.
The Eagles had three 4x400m relay entries, but coach Dixon elected to scratch all three due to the weather.
Morehead State will take a week off for final exams before returning to compete in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships. The meet will take place from Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, May 17 at Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
