MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State track and field team will make its second consecutive trip to the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational this year, with the three-day meet scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday at the Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park in Louisville, Ky. Weather has adjusted the slate of events, which will begin for MSU on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
It will be the team's ninth time at the meet in the last 16 years.
The Eagles should be well rested after having last competed 12 days ago at the Lee Fast Break Invitational. At that meet, the MSU women finished fifth, while the men were 14th. In both cases 40 teams sent representatives.
The Freeman/Wood Invitational will include 49 teams including host Louisville. The nation of Sierra Leone is even entered.
MSU coach
Clay Dixon has signed up 35 Eagles for the competition, with the group expected to participate in 20 events a total of 41 times.
A major focus for Coach Dixon will be the relays. There are three 4x100-meter and three 4x400-meter quartets slated to compete.
"We are in the end stages of our prep. We've had some quality workouts and are hoping to end the regular season on a high note this week and next," he said. "We've had solid marks through this season already. We hope to improve but also just hone our skills. Relays are a big emphasis this weekend."
Last year, the team had a small number of entries but seven of the 11 had "pr's".
For MSU, competition begins on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. with the women's "A" Flight long jump. That will include freshman
Kalynn Pease, who at the Lee Fast Break Invitational broke the school record in the 200-meter dash. Pease, who holds the school long jump record, is tied for 50th nationally with a 6.22m/20'05".
The rest of the team will compete on Friday and Saturday.
First up will be Kalynn's sister, junior
Erin Pease in the javelin at 9:30 a.m. on Friday. Her "pr" is 30.20m/99'01.00". She will be in flight two.
Four Eagles will be in action in the women's 800-meter run at 3 p.m. Last year, senior
Kaylyn Holman placed 30th with a then-"pr" of 2:18.36. She went on to better that mark and enters with a "pr" of 2:16.47. She sits sixth on MSU's all-time performer's list. Holman will be in heat three.
Three freshmen also will toe the line:
Josey Corbin,
Lauren Jones and
Peyton Lunsford. Jones has the fastest "pr" of the group with a 2:29.49. Corbin adds a 2:35.97, with Lunsford at 2:41.30. Corbin and Jones are in heat seven, while Lunsford is in heat eight.
The men follow at 3:25 p.m. Sophomore
Weston Blair enters with a "pr" of 1:54.19, which he set at Lee. At the 2025 Freeman/Wood Invitational, Blair finished 44th in 1:57.90. On Friday, he will be in heat four.
Junior
Brady Baker also set a "pr" at the Lee meet of 1:59.73, finally going under two minutes after coming close for so many races. Freshman Jensus Mendoza-Solis also will be running. His "pr" is 2:01.29. They will both be in heat eight.
At 3:50 p.m. sophomore
Olivia Miles will take part in the 200m. Her "pr" is 26.68. She will be in heat 13. Two Eagle men will compete at 4:15 p.m.: junior
Derril Carr and freshman
Kyler Witt. It will be Carr's first 200m race this season. His "pr" is 22.75. Witt has a "pr" of 22.52, which he set at Lee. Witt will be in heat six and Carr in heat seven.
Four Eagles will be in the 5,000-meter run. Of the group, sophomore
Meredith Campbell is the only one who ran at the meet last year. She placed 33rd in 19:19.42, but her "pr" is 17:40.46. Senior
Abby Taylor is also scheduled to compete, but an injury may keep her out. Her "pr" is 18:19.70. Both are scheduled for heat one.
At 6:20 p.m. the Aidans will take the track, graduate student
Aidan Massey and
Aidan Whitsell. Massey's top time is 14:49.39, while Whistell's is 15:36.66. Massey is in heat one and Whitsell is in heat two.
Most of the team will compete on Saturday. Sophomore
Brody Coleman will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 1:50 p.m. His "pr" is 10:16.46. He will be in heat two.
The first relay will be the 4x100m event at 2:15 p.m. The women's foursome of
Kalynn Pease, sophomore
Maryah Counts, Miles and freshman
Kennedi Alford will compete at 2:15 p.m. Its "pr" is 47.42. It will be in heat three.
The men will have two entries at 2:25 p.m. Sophomore
Mark Whitener, freshman
Sam Afari, freshman
Luke Kelly and freshman
Kyle Stepteau have run together and have a top time of 42.09. It will be the first appearance for the quartet of junior
Cade Sullivan, Carr, freshman
Jayce Stewart and Witt. Both groups will be in heat two.
School-record holder junior
Ginger Hayden will participate in the triple jump at 2:30 p.m. Her "pr" is
11.41m/37'05.25". She will be in flight one.
The 400-meter dash will feature two of the Eagles' all-time greats in the event. Counts holds the record of 56.97, which she set at the lee meet. Miles also will run. Her "pr" is 59.22. Their race starts at 2:35 p.m. Counts will be in heat five and Miles in heat eight.
At 3 p.m., the men's 400m will include Afari, whose 47.90 is the third-fastest time at MSU. Stewart will also toe the line. His "pr" is 51.05. Afari will be in heat three. Stewart will be in heat eight.
The women's 100-meter dash will start at 3:20 p.m. It will include sophomore
Brooklyn Boyce and junior
Cheyenne Stark. Boyce's "pr" is 12.81, while Stark's is 13.32. Boyce will be in heat nine. Stark will be in heat 10.
The men's 100m also will feature some of MSU's fastest ever in the event: Stepteau (fourth), Whitener (seventh) and junior
Cade Sullivan (11th). Their "pr's" are: 10.68 (Stepteau), Whitener (10.82) and Sullivan (11.06). That event will start at 3:40 p.m. Stepteau will be in heat four, Whitener in heat five and Sullivan in heat seven.
Morehead State will have its largest series of entries in the 1,500-meter run. The women will start at 4 p.m., with the men at 4:50 p.m. That group will include junior
Lani Baskett, whose "pr" is 5:16.91, redshirt junior
Christiana Brittian, whose "pr" is 5:00.61, junior
Adi Fuller, whose "pr" is 4:55.85, and Holman. The latter had a big meet at last year's Freeman/Wood meet. There she set a 4.12-second "pr" of 4:42.49, which put her fifth on the school's all-time list. She finished 14th. She has since bettered her "pr" and enters with a top time of 4:38.55. Holman will be in heat three. Brittian and Fuller will be in heat seven. Baskett will be in heat eight.
The four men will include freshman
Josh Arnett, who has the fastest mark among the guys at the distance. His "pr" is 3:59.05. Sophomore
Carter Lamb also will toe the line. He set his "pr" of 4:04.49 earlier this season. The other two entrants, sophomore
Liam Parido and sophomore
Preston Glassco both ran last year and set "pr's". Parido was 34th in 4:05.29, while Glassco was 48th in 4:12.53. Parido's "pr" is the same but Glassco has dropped time and now sits at 4:10.26. Arnett and Parido will be in heat five. Lamb will be in heat six. Glassco will be in heat eight.
The meet will conclude with the 4x400m. The women's foursome of
Kalynn Pease, Alford, Miles and Counts ran during the indoor season and posted a top time of 3:53.01. Their event will start at 5:35 p.m. The quartet will be in heat three.
Like in the quick relay, the men will have two entries. Their race will start at 5:50 p.m. Afari, Stepteau, Stewart and Witt are the top group and have a "pr" of 3:22.28. The foursome of Sullivan, Carr, Whitener and Kelly have never run the distance together. Both entries will be in heat three.
Live results for the meet will be available at the link
https://live.dcracetiming.com/meets/69448.
Morehead State has two more meets this season. Next up is the Jim Green Invitational next weekend at Kentucky. The Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Championships will be held from May 14-16 in Little Rock, Ark.
