MOREHEAD, Ky. — Two meets, two school records.
Freshman sprinter
Kennedi Alford highlighted a standout performance for the Morehead State track and field team by setting a new school record in the 60-meter dash on Saturday at the Marshall Alumni Classic at the Jeff Small Track in the Chris Cline Indoor Athletic Complex in Huntington, W.Va.
Alford bested the old record held by Kilani Harvey (7.69 set in 2021) by one one-hundredth of a second after finishing in second place in the finals. However, it was just one of many impressive marks put together by the Eagles.
"Probably our best January opener to date. Sprints looked like they picked up right around where they left off and the distance had some good rust-busters," said MSU head coach
Clay Dixon. "Kennedi and Sam (Afari) had some great days in the 60m and 200m. We are excited to see their progress this season. Kaylyn (Holman), Weston (Blair), Aidan M(assey), and Meredith (Campbell) all had some standout performances in the mile and 3K. They all had plans and executed them well."
In total, Morehead State had 15 top-10 finishes and 11 "pr's".
Alford set the tone for the day on the track. In the prelims, she won her heat and finished third overall in 7.72. She returned later in the day for the finals and bettered her performance with a school record 7.68 and second-place finish. Lindsey Wilson's Promise Amasiatu jumped up to capture the title with a meet record of 7.62 after exiting the prelims in fourth.
"Today went really well, especially in the 60-meter dash. I finished second overall and was able to break the school record, which was a big accomplishment for me," Alford said. "I felt strong out of the blocks and focused on staying relaxed while accelerating through the race. I maintained my form through the finish and felt confident in my execution. Overall, it was a very positive day, and this race showed progress in my speed and consistency. I'm excited to keep building on this performance moving forward."
Freshman teammate
Ava Claggett also had a strong outing in her first collegiate 60m race. She placed 24th in 8.25, which puts her seventh on the MSU all-time list. Claggett was actually timed in 8.243, as the mark was stretched to the thousandth of a second to break a tie with Ohio's Alex Kessen, who recorded an 8.241 to claim 23rd. Junior
Cheyenne Stark false started in her race and officially placed 42nd.
Alford's performance was not the only highlight of the day. Freshman
Sam Afari ran the fastest 200-meter dash for an Eagle since 2009 after crossing the line in a heat-winning time of 21.75. That mark also ranks 55th in Division I so far this year. Overall, Afari was third. Marshall's Joey Bloebaum (21.51) and West Virginia Wesleyan's Lucas Anderson (21.71) captured the top two spots.
"I was really excited to open up in the 200m this weekend. Going into the race, I was mainly focused on finishing strong and trusting that all the training I've been putting in would show, and it did," Afari said. "Overall, I felt good about how the day went and I'm happy with where I'm at right now."
Running his first 200m of the season, freshman
Kyler Witt registered a 23.49 to take 21st.
Graduate student
Aidan Massey made a successful return in the 3,000-meter run after not having competed on a track since last February. He blew the doors off his previous "pr" of 8:54.42, by finishing in 8:34.63 to earn second place. That time moved him into 11th in MSU history. Marshall's Maxton Sowers won the event in 8:33.62.
Sophomore
Liam Parido was the next Eagle across the line, taking 12th in 9:09.81. MSU athletes also claimed three of the next four spots as sophomore
Ryan Richendollar was 13th in 9:15.99, junior
Keghan Thompson was 14th in 9:16.01 and junior
Aidan Whitsell was 16th in 9:22.76.
The women's 3,000m included a 12th-place finish from sophomore
Meredith Campbell (10:30.52) and a 25th-place finish from freshman
Addison Hill (12:18.77).
The mile featured several impressive efforts. Sophomore
Weston Blair dropped 17.57 seconds off his "pr", crossing the line in 4:29.15 to grab ninth place. Freshman
Josh Arnett followed in 13th in 4:34.09. Sophomore
Carter Lamb and junior
Brady Baker each recorded "pr's". Lamb was 14th in 4:36.66 (a 3.68 second improvement), with Baker in 18th in 4:41.09 (a 5.54 second improvement). Freshman
Jesus Mendoza-Solis was 19th in 4:41.62 and junior
Garrett West was 28th in 4:55.64.
Senior
Kaylyn Holman led the MSU women by placing 13th in 5:18.90. Junior
Adi Fuller was 15th in 5:38.45, with junior
Lani Baskett recording a new top time after finishing in 5:46.84 and in 19th place. Running her first track meet of the year, freshman
Sydney Filippazzo was 22nd in 5:55.57.
Freshmen
Kyle Stepteau and
Luke Kelly both set new "pr's" and moved up the all-time ladder at MSU with their races in the 60m. Stepteau was 14th in 7.08 and now sits sixth. Kelly covered the distance in 7.11 and now ranks seventh. Sophomore
Tate Glass captured 25th in 7.29, followed by junior
Cade Sullivan in 26th in 7.31 and junior
Derril Carr in 35th in 7.48.
In the 200m, sophomore
Brooklyn Boyce finished 22nd in 27.58, while Stark rebounded from her 60m performance and claimed 32nd in 28.64.
For the second straight meet, junior
Emily Spradlin broke her "pr" in the 800-meter run. This time, she improved by 51-hundredths of a second, finishing in ninth place with a time of 2:31.06. Senior
Casey Skaggs also ran and claimed 29th in 2:59.91.
The men initially had Solis-Mendoza entered in the 800m but decided to have him just focus on the mile.
Likewise, there was just one gender competing in the 400-meter dash. Freshman
Jayce Stewart finished in 12th in 53.08.
The Eagles had nine runners entered in the 300-meter dash. Stepteau led the way for the men by claiming seventh in 35.94. Glass followed in ninth in 36.90. Kelly was 10th in 36.94, with sophomore
Mark Whitener in 12th in 37.97 and Carr in 13th in 39.05.
Sophomore
Maryah Counts topped the women by claiming eighth in 42.66. Sophomore
Olivia Miles was ninth in 43.27, with Claggett in 10th in 43.54 and Alford in 11th in 43.66.
The day started with the long jump, although the Eagles did not have the same success as they did in their last trip to Marshall. Junior
Ginger Hayden was 10th in 4.91/16'01.50", with Boyce in 11th in 4.79m/15'08.75".
Morehead State had three entries in the 4x400m relay. The foursome of Afari, Witt, Stewart and Carr placed fifth in 3:35.48. Stepteau, Kelly, Whitener and Glass were sixth in 3:38.62.
Miles, Claggett, Holman and Counts teamed to place fourth in 4:07.96.
"The 4x4 was also a good experience for us as a group. We know there's still some room to improve, but the potential is definitely there," Afari said. "It was exciting to see how the team competed, and I'm looking forward to seeing how much better we can get as we keep building."
Dixon noted that this was one of the best group performances from his team at this point in the season.
"Normally, we come out of this meet and see where our holes are," he said. "This time, we didn't see anything we really need to improve. This is a really strong team that is going to be a force as the season goes along and we're going to surprise some people and be a factor at the conference championship meet."
Morehead State takes next week off before heading to Louisville and the Norton Heathcare Sports & Learning Center for the first of two meets in the Derby City. First up is the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic on Friday, Jan. 23. After that, the club will compete in the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational on January 30-31.
