MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State track & field team's hot stretch through the first few meets of the season has cooled after the first day of the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational at the Norton Heathcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Ky.
There were still several standout performances but, unlike every meet to date, no records.
"Some good improvements and 'pr's', some not so great. (It) happens though. Not every race can be a 'pr'," said MSU head coach
Clay Dixon. "Kalynn (Pease) making it to finals in the long jump is big for this meet."
The Eagles competed in eight events and registered four "pr's", including freshman
Sam Afari in the 200-meter dash, sophomore Maryah Combs in the 400-meter dash and sophomore
Weston Blair in the 800-meter run.
Although she did not match her school record performance in her last effort in the long jump, freshman
Kalynn Pease qualified for the finals of the 71-person event, before finishing ninth (eighth collegiately). Competing in the fourth flight, Pease entered the finals sitting ninth after reaching 18'08.75"/5.71m on her third attempt but could not better her performance on her last three jumps.
Her result bettered the top results of athletes from Arkansas State, Cincinnati, Dayton, Grand Valley State, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Lindenwood, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, Northern Kentucky, South Florida, Southern Illinois, Tennessee State and UT Martin. Louisville's Eve Divinity won the competition with a top distance of 6.34m/20'09.75".
Counts started the day with a promising result in the 400m. She recorded a time of 58.75, slicing 14-hundredths of a second off her "pr" and finishing 12th overall in the 43-member "C" Division competition.
Counts was the top performing Ohio Valley Conference runner in the event, while also beating entries from Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, Jacksonville State, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (Ohio) and Western Kentucky. She was fourth in the third heat.
Sophomore
Olivia Miles narrowly missed setting her "pr" after placing 32nd in 1:00.22. She was fourth in her heat as well.
In the men's open 800m, Blair finished sixth in his heat and 33rd overall (32nd collegiately) in 1:55.06, a 67-hundredth of a second drop off his race last Friday at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic. There were 82 runners in the field. An Eagle in the fall before transferring at the semester, Kyle Crady won Heat 7 and finished 49th overall in 1:56.91.
Freshman
Jesus Mendoza-Solis also bettered his time from last week's effort at the Bellarmine meet, finishing third in his heat and 71st overall (70th collegiately) in 2:01.09. It was his collegiate "pr".
In the women's open 800m, senior
Kaylyn Holman made her first appearance this year in the event and placed 30th overall in 2:19.75. She was the second-highest finishing OVC runner in the event, while also bettering 12 other OVC entrants, including MSU juniors
Emily Spradlin, who was on one-hundredth of a second off her "pr" after recording a 2:31.07 and placing 69th overall (68th collegiately) and
Adi Fuller, who covered the course in 2:32.19 and claimed 71st overall (70th collegiately). Holman was third in her heat, with Spradlin sixth and Fuller eighth. There were 78 total entrants.
Afari cut six hundredths of a second off his "pr", winning his heat and placing fifth overall in the "C" Division 200m. Kennesaw State's Ca'Von Lucas won the race in 21.49. There were 65 individuals in the event, with Afari the highest finishing of the 14. He beat every runner from Alabama, Arkansas State, Belmont, Cincinnati, Indiana, Lipscomb, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, Northern Kentucky and Western Kentucky.
Freshman
Kyle Stepteau was 35th in 22.60 (22.600). He fell one-hundredth of a second out of 32nd, falling in a tie with Southeast Missouri's Jackson Witvoet, who also covered the course in 22.60 (22.591 when carried out to the thousandth of a second). Freshman
Luke Kelly tied for 48th in 22.95. He too was involved in a four-person tie, claiming second out of the group in 22.945. UT Martin's Ja'Kobe Ward placed 47th in 22.943. Tennessee State's Damon Jackson also was 48th in 22.945 and UT Martin's Isaac Boles was 50th in 22.950. Stepteau finished third in his heat, with Kelly fifth in his.
In the women's 67-runner "C" Division 200m, freshman
Kennedi Alford was ninth overall in 25.04. Pease placed 54th in 26.45. Alford was the top OVC finisher and beat entries from Arkansas State, Bellarmine, Cincinnati, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Grand Valley State, Indiana, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Louisville, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Miami (Ohio), Northern Kentucky, South Florida and Western Kentucky. Alford was second in her heat to Michigan State's Elizabeth Anderson (24.80). Pease was third in her heat.
Morehead State had five entries in the open 3,000-meter run. Senior
Abby Taylor had the best finish of the bunch, placing 45th (44th collegiately) in a season-best 10:44.84. Seven days ago, she covered the distance in 10:57.34. She was 14th in her heat. There were 60 total runners.
Among the men, graduate student
Aidan Massey was the top finisher of a loaded field that included 100 total entrants. He placed ninth in his heat, 49th collegiate and 51st overall in 8:32.97. Sophomore
Ryan Richendollar also was ninth in his heat, 80th collegiately and 87th overall in 9:13.12. Junior
Aidan Whitsell was 12th in his heat, 83rd collegiately and 90th overall in 9:22.87, with freshman
Lance Garner 13th in his heat, 85th collegiately and 92nd overall in 9:26.25.
The Eagles return for Day 2 with 15 entries in eight events.
The first event will be the women's triple jump at 10:30 a.m. Hayden is the team's lone entry and she has not competed in the event since setting the school record at the 2025 OVC Outdoor Championships last May. At that meet, she cleared 11.10m/36'05.00". There will be four flights and Hayden is in the second. The finals will take place after the conclusion of the last flight.
The men's open 60-meter dash begins at 10:55 a.m. There will be 12 heats. The finals will be later at 2:45 p.m. The Eagles will have four competitors. Afari and sophomore
Mark Whitener will be in Heat 8. It will be Afari's first collegiate venture in the event. Whitener finished 11th collegiately last Friday in 7.203. Stepteau is in Heat 9. At Bellarmine, he was second with a "pr" of 7.06. Kelly will be in Heat 10. Seven days ago, he tied for seventh collegiately in 7.174. Whitener's "pr" is 7.04, with Kelly owning a top time of 7.11, respectively.
The women's open 60m will take place at 11:20 a.m. The team's lone entry is Alford, who set the school record of 7.64 last Friday in winning the Bellarmine meet. She will be in Heat 4.
The women hit the track for the open mile at 11:55 a.m. Three Eagles are entered. Freshman
Sydney Filippazzo will be in Heat 1, with junior
Lani Baskett in Heat 2 and Holman in Heat 7. Last week, Holman finished ninth with a "pr" of 5:09.80, with Baskett taking 27th in a "pr" of 5:34.97 and Filippazzo in 29th with a "pr" of 5:39.42
The men's open mile begins at 1 p.m. There are 11 heats. Sophomore
AJ Hawkins will be in Heat 7, with sophomore
Liam Parido and freshman
Josh Arnett in Heat 9. Parido and Arnett ran at Bellarmine, with Parido finishing 24th collegiately in 4:23.45 and Arnett placing 25th collegiately in 4:23.61. It was a "pr" for both runners. Hawkins set his "pr" of 4:23.06 last year at Eastern Michigan.
The lone entry in the open 5,000m is sophomore
Meredith Campbell. She will run in Heat 1, which begins at 2:55 p.m. Her "pr" is 18:23.30.
The 4x400-meter relays will conclude the day for the Eagles. The first race begins at 3:40 p.m. The women's foursome of Miles, Alford, Pease and Counts will be in Heat 9. The combination (albeit a slightly different order) placed second in 3:59.40 last weekend. It was their "pr". Freshman
Ava Claggett is serving as an alternate.
The men's event begins at 4:20 p.m. and includes 10 heats. The Eagle team of Afari, Stepteau, Stewart and Witt will be in Heat 10. Last weekend, it finished second in 3:22.21, the fastest mark for the program in 46 years and second quickest of all time.
Live results for the meet can be found at the link:
https://live.dcracetiming.com/meets/60820.
Morehead State will have its third meet in three weeks next weekend when the team travels to Marshal for the third time this season. The Marshall Jewel City Invitational will take place on Friday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 7 in Huntington, W.Va.
