DAY 1 story
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Behind the efforts of
Maryah Counts, the Morehead State women's track and field team notched its best Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Championship finish in 19 years. The sophomore was part of a 4x400-meter relay team that obliterated the school record and nearly added another all-time best MSU mark of her own in the open 400-meter dash in Wednesday's competition to cap off the two days at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center in Louisville, Ky.
The Morehead State women tallied 23 points and placed ninth, beating two teams for the first time since the 2003 squad came in sixth out of nine schools.
The Eagle men also put together an historic performance, tallying eight points, nearly double what they did in the two previous years combined since the indoor program resumed.
Between the two teams, MSU had 14 athletes score in 10 events.
Watch MSU head coach Clay Dixon discuss the Eagles' performances.
On Wednesday, Counts finished in fourth place in the 400m in a "pr" of 57.46, which moved her into second on MSU's all-time list. Freshman
Kennedi Alford took seventh in the 200-meter dash in 24.93. And sophomore
Meredith Campbell claimed seventh in the 3,000-meter run in a 3.21-second "pr" of 10:09.23. The trio accounted for all the women's team's points from individual competitions.
Counts easily won her heat and fell 16-hundredths of a second off the school record.
She was nervous before her first race, but those fears were allayed after she crossed the line in the 400m.
"I ran a great race the first day and an even better race the second day. I was a little disappointed I didn't break the school record or place (in the top three), but I know how great of a race I ran and how proud everyone was of me and that is all that matters," she said.
On the men's side, graduate student
Aidan Massey placed eighth in the 3,000m in 8:35.15.
Both 4x400m relays on Wednesday had notable "pr's". Both had dramatic finishes.
The women's foursome of Alford, freshman
Kalynn Pease, sophomore
Olivia Miles and Counts won its heat and broke the school record it set last May by 4.79 seconds, finishing fifth in 3:53.01.
"The 4x4 was one of the most fun races I have ever run. Running with my teammates and having the fastest time after being in the first heat is amazing," Counts said. "We set the tone for the other teams, and they should know we are a threat now. It's simple, Morehead (State) made a name for itself."
The men had to make a change in their lineup by inserting freshman
Luke Kelly as an alternate to replace injured freshman
Kyler Witt. The group, which included freshman Sam Alford, freshman
Jayce Stewart, Kelly and freshman
Kyle Stepteau, notched the fastest MSU mark in that race since 1980, when that team blistered the course to a tune of 3:15.80. Wednesday's quartet clocked a 3:22.05 to take sixth.
Listen to Stewart talk about the 4x400m and distance medley relays, both of which scored for the Eagles.
Other competitors in action on Wednesday included freshman
Josh Arnett taking 10th in the mile in 4:20.39. Sophomore
Liam Parido followed in 14th in 4:25.76, with sophomore
Carter Lamb in 18th in 4:48.89 and junior
Brady Baker in 20th in 4:35.08.
In the women's mile, senior
Kaylyn Holman led the Eagles by placing 16th in 5:16.77. Junior
Adi Fuller was next in 24th in 5:30.58, followed by freshman
Sydney Filippazzo in 25th in 5:31.07 and junior
Lani Baskett in 26th in 5:37.35.
Two others ran in the 3,000m. Sophomore
AJ Hawkins was 18th in the men's race in 9:06.05, with senior
Abby Taylor 21st in the women's event in 10:54.66.
Junior
Ginger Hayden began the day in the triple jump, where she finished 13th in 10.86 in 35'07.75".
In the team standings, Southeast Missouri captured both titles, wrestling the men's crown away from two-time defending champion Little Rock, while claiming its third consecutive women's trophy.
The Redhawks collected 153 men's points, with Little Rock following at 134.50. Eastern Illinois at 96, Southern Indiana at 66, Tennessee State at 62, SIU Edwardsville and UT Martin tied at 49, Western Illinois at 41.50 and Morehead State at eight, rounded out the field.
The SEMO women tallied 165 points. Eastern Illinois was second with 115, followed by Tennessee Tech with 90, Little Rock with 76, SIUE and Lindenwood tied with 45, Western Illinois with 41, Southern Indiana with 27, Morehead State with 23, Tennessee State with 19 and UT Martin with 16.
The league presented its individual awards after the conclusion of the meet.
OVC Female Co-Track Athlete of the Year: Chanel Honeywell, Lindenwood; Nova Ojutkanags, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Field Athletes of the Year: Anna Thomason, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Freshman of the Year: Kennedi Winbush, Tennessee Tech
OVC Women's Coach of the Year: Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
OVC Female Athlete of the Championship: Abby Venhaus, Eastern Illinois
OVC Male Track Athlete of the Year: Daniel Lacy, Eastern Illinois
OVC Male Field Athlete of the Year: Marshall Swadley, Southeast Missouri
OVC Male Freshmen of the Year: Jeremiah Patton, Little Rock
OVC Men's Coach of the Year: Eric Crumpecker, Southeast Missouri
OVC Male Athletes of the Championship: Jeremiah Patton, Little Rock
Morehead State will begin the outdoor season on March 20-21 at the Eastern Kentucky Springtime Invitational.
