MOREHEAD, Ky. – The backbone of the Morehead State men's and women's cross country teams of the last several seasons have moved on and is new era is beginning as the Morehead State men's and women's cross country teams have returned to campus to begin practicing for the upcoming season. The first practice took place on Thursday, Aug. 14.
"So far we have been getting the routine down and getting the newcomers acclimated," said MSU head coach
Clay Dixon. "Everyone seems to be on the same page and understanding what we are going for in each practice."
Over the last three seasons,
Peyton Fairchild,
Wes Grogan Lucy Singleton,
Kyler Stewart,
Laikin Tarlton and
Jacob Vogelpohl have combined to top the Eagles in 27 of the last 30 meets. All six graduated either in December 2024 or May 2025. Two of the remaining three winners came during one weekend last fall when MSU split its teams and competed in separate meets, and only one of those individuals is back for 2025.
Only junior
Taylor Allen, who led the squad in the first meet of 2023, has topped a full team of Eagles in a meet in the last three years and is on the 2025 roster. Sophomore
Brody Coleman was the top men's performer at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic, a lineup that did not include 10 individuals who ran at the Southern Showcase in Alabama the same weekend.
In 2024, the highest team finish for a returning individual competing with a complete squad is second by sophomore
Ryan Richendollar at the Southeast Regional, and Allen, who was second at both the Thundering Herd Invitational and the Southeast Regional.
Enter 12 newcomers, who will make up 35 percent each cross country squad, and look to replace the recent graduates. It is a group that includes six men and six women: graduate student
Aiden Massey [Olathe, Kan./Baker (Kan.) University], sophomore
AJ Hawkins (Worthington, Ohio/Eastern Michigan), junior
Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind./Vincennes (Ind.) Univ.], freshman
Sydney Filippazzo (Louisville, Ky./Male Traditional School), freshman
Peyton Lunsford (Harlan, Ky./Harlan County High School), freshman
Kyle Crady (Crestwood Ky./Oldham County High School), freshman
Josh Arnett (Lexington, Ky./Paul Laurence Dunbar High School), freshman
Lance Garner (Brandenburg, Ky./Meade County High School), freshman
Jesus Mendoza-Solis (Paris, Ky./Bourbon County High School), freshman
Lauren Jones (Normal, Ill./Normal High School), freshman
Josey Corbin (Brandenburg, Ky./Meade County High School) and freshman
Addison Hill (Danville, Ky./Danville Christian Academy).
Still, there are high expectations for the returnees. Massey and senior
Abby Taylor were named Ohio Valley Conference Runners to Watch for MSU.
Massey is on his third school, after excelling at two programs in Kansas, Emporia State and Baker University. He is the Baker school-record holder in the 8K. Last fall, he placed 114th at the NAIA national championship. He also was second at the conference cross county meet. He won two of the team's four regular-season races.
Taylor finished fourth on the team in five of the six meets. She twice placed inside the top 15 and had two other top-60 finishes.
Dixon's outlook for the top women includes mostly Eagles who ran last year. Highlighting that group is Taylor, Allen, sophomore
Meredith Campbell, senior
Kaylyn Holman and senior
Christiana Brittian.
Allen ran in six meets and was in the team's top three four times. Campbell also ran in four races, with a top overall finish of 13th at the Golden Eagle Invitational. Holman had a breakout season in track and field last spring, but also performed well in cross country, competing in six events with two top-25 finishes. Brittian has had injury issues to start the 2024 campaign and only competed in three meets. Her best outings came at the Golden Eagle Invitational and the OVC Championship.
"We got a strong top five on our women's side," Dixon said. "I think we will have more depth as the season progresses and some of these newcomers develop this season."
Seniors
Natalie Curry and
Casey Skaggs, juniors
Lani Baskett and
Emily Spradlin, and redshirt junior
Lydia Bauer will all look to work their way into the top group.
Curry ran twice last year, with her best overall performance coming at the Thundering Herd Invitational, where she placed 31st. Skaggs has made consistent improvement throughout her career. Last year, she claimed her top team finish in her three years with the Eagles by claiming eighth on the team at the Marshall meet. In her first cross country season with the team after transferring in from Vincennes, Baskett was second on the team at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic and ran her fastest 5K of the fall by well over three minutes at the Queens Cross Country Challenge. Spradlin also had a strong performance at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic by placing third on the team and 22nd overall. Bauer had a slow start to her MSU career because of health issues after transferring from Northern Illinois. She only ran in three meets, but was part of the OVC Championship contingent, taking ninth on the squad.
The Eagle men will feature a lot of returning depth. Juniors
Brady Baker,
Keghan Thompson,
Garrett West and
Aidan Whitsell all look to continue building upon what they have accomplished so far. Five sophomores also look to make the jump into the top group.
Weston Blair, Coleman,
Preston Glassco,
Carter Lamb and
Liam Parido each showed flashes of potential in their first season.
Richendollar had a strong opening year for the Blue and Gold. He was among the top four Eagles in every race and ended the campaign with three top-50 finishes, including taking eighth at the Golden Eagle Invitational.
Baker ran four times last fall, with three of those races featuring top-40 finishes. Thompson has been steadily productive throughout his time at MSU. Last year, he was in the team's top six in all six races. His best overall performance came at the Golden Eagle Invitational, where he placed 16th. West appeared in six meets, three times finishing third among the MSU entries and twice placing among the overall top 25. Whitsell ran in six races, ranking among the top seven on the team four times, with a peak performance of sixth at the Southeast Regional.
Blair appeared in four races, with both his best overall and best team performance coming at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic. Coleman was in the team's top nine in four of his five competitions, highlighted by a seventh-place overall finish at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic. He also was 20th overall at the Golden Eagle invitational. Glassco ran five times, with two of those meets notching top 40- finishes. He was in the team's top eight in every meet. Lamb's best outing came at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic, where he was fifth on the squad and 15th overall. Parido made a bigger impact on the team during the track season but also ran in four cross country meets. His best outing was a 16th-place overall finish at the Mike and Mary Kay Johnson Classic.
"(The) men are looking great. They want to compete and are hungry for competition," Dixon said. "It's going to be an interesting season to see how everyone develops."
Two team members have seen limited action due to injuries. Redshirt junior
Bella Almodovar has not toed the line for a race in two years, while redshirt sophomore
Asher Jack did not run last season. Jack is not expected to compete again this fall.
Those who will be exclusively part of the MSU track and field squad will begin practicing on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Sophomore
Brooklyn Boyce, junior
Derril Carr, sophomore
Maryah Counts, sophomore
Tate Glass, redshirt sophomore
Lauren Gooderson, junior
Ginger Hayden, sophomore
Olivia Miles, junior
Cheyenne Stark, junior
Cade Sullivan and sophomore
Mark Whitener make up the returnees.
Freshman
Sam Afari (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West HS), freshman
Kennedi Alford (Elizabethtown, Ky./Central Hardin HS), freshman
Darian Bell (Paris, Ky./Paris HS), freshman
Ava Claggett (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West HS), freshman
Luke Kelly (Harlan, Ky./Harlan County HS), freshman
Lily Metcalf (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette HS), junior
Erin Pease [Flemingsburg, Ky./Union Commonwealth (Ky.) Univ.], freshman
Kalynn Pease (Flemingsburg, Ky./Fleming County HS), freshman
Addison Poole (Brandenburg, Ky./Meade County HS), freshman
Kyle Stepteau (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier HS), freshman
Jayce Stewart (Corbin, Ky./Corbin HS) and freshman
Kyler Witt (London, Ky./South Laurel HS) are the newcomers.
In addition to the departures of Fairchild, Grogan, Singleton, Stewart, Tarlton and Vogelpohl, the Eagles will also have to replace the efforts of
Justin Bland,
Noah Bunting,
Megan Bush,
Natalie Cotton,
Hope Harris,
Carter Hurley and
Austin Montgomery.
The Morehead State cross country teams begin their season on Friday, Aug. 29 at the EKU Invitational in Richmond, Ky.
