LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Three meets, three school records for the Morehead State track and field team this indoor season.
For the second straight competition that distinction goes to freshman
Kennedi Alford in the 60-meter dash, as she dropped four one-hundredths of a second off her time two weeks ago to win the event in 7.64 on Friday at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Ky.
Alford's 60m result was just one of multiple outstanding accomplishments on the day. MSU was entered in 15 events and it had at least one top-seven finish in 12 of them. In total, the Eagles won three events, finished second five times, third once, fourth once, fifth twice, seventh twice, eighth three times, ninth three times and 10th twice. That is 22 top-10 performances out of 48 total entries, all while setting 16 "pr's" and tying another. Outside of the two relays, only two events in which MSU was entered were there fewer than 20 competitors, and in eight of the others, there were 29 or more. The Eagles won 12 heats.
If you think MSU just fattened up against a weak field, it didn't. The 14-team competition included national powerhouses Louisville and Eastern Kentucky; as well as Xavier (Ohio), Evansville, Wright State, and Ohio Valley Conference foe Southern Indiana; plus Division II/NAIA powers Campbellsville (Ky.), Illinois-Springfield and the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.); and junior college standout Vincennes (Ind.); as well as host Bellarmine; and competitive opponents Transylvania (Division III), West Virginia State (Division II) and Missouri Baptist (NAIA).
It marked the first time this season the Blue and Gold ran on a banked track.
Listen to Morehead State coach Clay Dixon discuss the teams' performance on MSU's YouTube channel.
Alford's day extended beyond the 60m. She finished the afternoon with a victory in the 200-meter dash and had an outstanding third leg of the 4x400-meter relay (in which she took the team from third to first) before the squad fell short of the win by 52-hundredths of a second.
In the 200m, she crossed the line in 24.79, the second-fastest mark in school history, while the 4x400m race, which included sophomore
Olivia Miles, sophomore
Maryah Counts, Alford and freshman
Kalynn Pease, finished in 3:59.40 to record Morehead State's fourth-fastest mark of all time.
Xavier's Jordan Oseghale (7.74 in the 60m) and Evansville's Taylor Johnson (25.25 in the 200m) were the runners-up in Alford's individual events. Xavier's foursome of Rielyn Jackson, Brittany Baird, Madison Rivera and Shannon O'Brien trailed the Eagles in the second half of the 4x400m, before eventually catching them at the finish line in 3:58.88.
Hear Alford talk about her performance on MSU's YouTube channel.
Freshman
Sam Afari picked up a win and two seconds, with his first collegiate 400-meter dash notching the best time and first sub-50-second performance in 12 years at MSU. He was second in that event to Cumberland's Luban Haque (48.75) in 49.57. Afari won his heat in both of his individual races.
Afari captured the 200m in 21.91, slightly short of his "pr", besting Bellarmine's Grant King (22.03), who was the runner-up. It was his first collegiate victory. The men's 4x400m relay combination of Afari, freshman
Kyle Stepteau, freshman
Jayce Stewart and freshman
Kyler Witt was clocked in 3:22.21, the fastest for an MSU foursome in 46 years. The school record is 3:15.80. Vincennes' group of Devin Wilson, Artezz Butler-Sanders, Jacob Kusbel and Travon Lane won the race in 3:21.75.
Watch Afari as he addresses his races on MSU's YouTube channel.
Morehead State really stood out in the sprints. In addition to Alford and Afari, Pease (fifth in 8.00), sophomore
Brooklyn Boyce (ninth in 8.20) and junior
Cheyenne Stark (17th in 8.58) all stood out in the women's 60m. Both Pease and Boyce moved onto MSU's top-10 list in the discipline. Boyce also won her heat.
In the men's race, Stepteau won his section and was second with a "pr" of 7.06, while freshman
Luke Kelly tied for eighth (tied for seventh collegiately) with Campbellsville's Isiah Bain in 7.174. Sophomore
Mark Whitener followed in 12th (11th collegiately) in 7.203 (losing a tiebreaker with Evansville's Jose Ocampo, who finished in 7.201) and junior
Derril Carr came in 19th (18th collegiately) in 7.37. Vincennes' Wilson took the title in 6.96.
That trend continued into the 200m, where in addition to Alford and Afari winning their races, Stepteau claimed third on the men's side with a 22.29, which is the eighth-fastest on record at MSU. In addition, Kelly placed ninth in 22.88 and sophomore
Tate Glass was 16th in 23.69.
Pease was the runner-up among the Eagle women. She won her heat and finished eighth in 26.28 (seventh collegiately), with Counts taking her heat and 10th (ninth collegiately) overall in 26.45.
In the 400m, Afari took second, followed by Stewart (17th overall/16th collegiately in 52.51) and Witt (18th overall/17th collegiately in 52.72). Stewart set a "pr", while Witt won his heat. The trio became at least the 22nd, 23rd and 24th Eagles to go under 53 seconds in MSU history.
On the women's side, Counts matched her "pr" with a 58.89, a mark that earned her a heat victory and fourth place (third collegiately) overall. Miles crossed the line in 1:01.23 for 11th (10th collegiately).
Sophomore
Weston Blair reset his "pr" in the 800-meter run, using a strong finish to cover the course in 1:55.73 to both win his heat and claim seventh (sixth collegiately) overall. It marked the second straight meet in which he set a new top mark in a race. Running his first collegiate 800m, freshman
Jesus Mendoza-Solis crossed the line in 2:02.43 to finish 23rd (21st collegiately).
In the women's 800m, junior
Emily Spradlin continues to remain remarkably consistent as she covered the distance in 2:32.09, nearly matching her previous two times this season of 2:31.06 (Marshall Opener) and 2:31.57 (Marshall Alumni Classic). She finished in 20th. Freshman
Peyton Lunsford made her collegiate track debut and crossed the line in 2:44.29 and into 29th place.
Sophomore
Liam Parido and freshman
Josh Arnett became the 19th and 20th known Eagles to go under 4:25 in the mile as Parido came from several spots back to pass Arnett on the home stretch and place 25th (24th collegiately) in 4:23.45. Arnett finished 27th (25th collegiately) in 4:23.61. It was a 9.40-second "pr" for Parido. Arnett also set a "pr" by 10.48 seconds.
Junior
Brady Baker won his heat of the mile as he finished 51st collegiately (and 54th overall) in a "pr" of 4:37.47. Sophomore
Carter Lamb ran the entire race without his right shoe and placed 53rd collegiately (56th overall) in 4:44.04. Sophomore
Preston Glassco ran his first indoor meet as an Eagle and claimed 54th collegiately (57th overall) in 4:44.81, while junior
Garrett West was 60th collegiately (63rd overall) in 4:54.24.
Senior
Kaylyn Holman eclipsed her "pr" in the women's race, finishing in 5:09.80 and in ninth place. It was a drop of 4.22 seconds from her previous best and nine seconds off her time two weeks ago.
Three other Eagles competed in the event, with juniors
Lani Baskett taking 27th in a "pr" of 5:34.97 and
Adi Fuller claiming 28th in 5:37.32. Freshman
Sydney Filippazzo dropped 16.15 seconds off her time at the Marshall Alumni Classic and set a new "pr" with a 5:39.42 to earn 29th.
Sophomore
Meredith Campbell also notched a nearly 10-second improvement over two weeks ago in her 3,000-meter run by posting a season-best 10:20.22 to place seventh. It is the third fastest time in the OVC this winter. Running for the first time this year, senior
Abby Taylor crossed the line in 16th in 10:57.34.
Like Campbell, graduate student
Aidan Massey had a huge drop in time, setting a "pr" in his 3K race to place second for the second straight meet. Massey crossed the line in 8:24.28 to collect a 10.35-second "pr". It is the fourth-best time in the conference this season and the sixth best in MSU history.
Redshirt freshman
AJ Hawkins competed in his first track meet as an Eagle and placed 26th collegiately (29th overall) in 8:57.09. Junior
Aidan Whitsell followed in 32nd (36th overall) in 9:08.84, with freshman
Lance Garner in 35th (39th overall) in 9:10.93, sophomore
Ryan Richendollar in 36th (40th overall) in 9:11.70, junior
Keghan Thompson in 37th (41st coverall) in 9:16.25 and sophomore
Brody Coleman in 39th (43rd overall) in 9:22.41. It was a "pr" for both Whitsell and Richendollar.
MSU also had impressive performances in the 4x400-meter relays. In both cases, the Eagles placed second. The men's group of Afari, Stepteau, Stewart and Witt really stood out by recording a time of 3:22.21, the fastest for a Morehead State foursome in 46 years and the second-best in known school history. The Eagles took the lead on the first lap only to be passed with just over 200 meters remaining and, despite a furious last lap, fell to Vincennes' team by 46-hundredths of a second.
The Eagles also had a second representative in the event. Carr, Kelly, Whitener and Mendoza-Solis claimed eighth in 3:36.71.
The women's quartet of Miles, Counts, Alford and Pease ran the fourth-fastest mark in MSU history by clocking a 3:59.40. After sitting in third when she received the baton, Alford moved the club into first, a lead it held until just yards remained, before falling to Xavier by 52-hundredths of a second.
The day began with the long jump. Junior
Ginger Hayden qualified for the finals on her final attempt of the prelims, a mark that eventually placed her fifth overall and fourth collegiately. She recorded a 5.17m/16'11.50". Boyce finished 10th overall and ninth collegiately with a top distance of 4.86m/15'11.50".
Three team members originally scheduled to compete did not make the trip due to illness: senior
Casey Skaggs, and freshmen
Josey Corbin and
Addison Hill.
The Eagles will return to the Norton Center next weekend for the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational hosted by Louisville. The meet will take place Friday and Saturday with day one starting at 10 a.m. and the final day beginning at 9 a.m.
