MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State had 14 athletes in action on Thursday's Day 1 of the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the Coleman Sports Complex in Little Rock, Ark., and six of those either scored or qualified for Saturday's final.
Thursday's times were slower than the season-bests that determined the seedings, but for most of MSU's competitors, the goal was not to run fast on the first day of action.
"People don't care about running fast in championship races; it's about advancing or scoring," Morehead State coach
Clay Dixon said. "Survive and advance as they say.
"Five people (are) on to finals in (the) 200m and 1,500m, so that's a positive," he added. "We got on the board with Meredith's 10K. (I'm) looking forward to Day 2."
Even the weather turned out to be a non-factor.
"The wind was not an issue. They were legal times for once as opposed to big windy conditions," Dixon said. "It was pretty nice out. Warm, so I didn't expect fast 10Ks."
The day started promising as three of the five Eagle entries in the opening event, the 1,500-meter run, qualified out of the prelims to Saturday's finals. Based on the entry times, only one of the three was expected.
"I'll take it, three out of five advancing," Dixon said.
One of those was freshman
Josh Arnett, who was ranked 29th in the conference and seeded 13th among the entries in his 19-person race.
Arnett hung with the lead pack for the first three laps of his heat, but a handful of late surges dropped him to seventh, crossing the line in 4:00.63. However, all he needed to do was finish in the top 12 and only four runners from the first heat went faster. Overall, he finished 11th.
"My goal for this was to just to qualify for finals. I knew it was gonna be a battle, but I knew I could compete with these guys," he said. "We went out extremely slow, but I knew that it was going to come to a kick (and) I was prepared to go fast."
The other two male Eagles in the race did not have the same success. Sophomore Caleb Lamb got his legs tangled with the pack and fell on the first lap. He recovered but was too far behind to catch up, eventually finishing 10th in his heat and 19th overall in 4:18.32. Sophomore
Liam Parido ran in Arnett's heat and sat sixth after the first lap. He improved to third after 700 meters but fell behind on the next lap and finished ninth in his heat and 18th overall in 4:12.78.
In the team's last meet, the Jim Green Invitational, senior
Kaylyn Holman won her heat for the first two times of her career. She can now make that three straight. As was her strategy at Jim Green, Holman wanted to get out fast and set the pace. That is what she did on Thursday as she jumped out to the lead early and led from wire-to-wire capturing the heat victory in 4:44.26. At one point midway through her race, she was 25 meters in front and led the pack by more than two and a half seconds, before holding off a late surge from Southeast Missouri's Madalyn Gray. Holman, who finished eighth last year, qualified for the finals by placing seventh overall.
Redshirt junior
Christiana Brittian also will advance on to the championship race after placing sixth in her heat and earned the final spot in Saturday's field with a 4:48.71. It was her "pr".
A last-minute lineup change saw freshman
Kalynn Pease withdraw from the 200-meter dash, but her removal from the race did not damper MSU's overall performance as freshman
Kennedi Alford blistered the field en route to winning her heat and posting the second-fastest overall time in 24.29. Running from lane two as soon as she cleared the turn, she raced past the field and out-legged the competition down the backstretch.
"Kennedi looked good. I don't know what the rest of the conference did in relation to their 'pr's', but she definitely looked like a threat for the finals on Saturday," Dixon said.
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Freshman
Sam Afari also had a strong performance in the men's 200m, placing third in his heat but sixth overall in 21.51, to earn a berth to the finals and guaranteeing the Eagle men points. Freshmen
Kyle Stepteau,
Kyler Witt and
Luke Kelly were not as fortunate. Stepteau was sixth in his heat and 15th overall in 22.235 (22.24). Witt was sixth in his heat and 19th overall in 22.51. Kelly was seventh in his heat in 22.70 but was disqualified for leaving his lane and finished 23rd.
In MSU's lone finals of the day, the Eagles fell below their seeds in the 10,000-meter run. However, the women picked up a point when sophomore
Meredith Campbell placed eighth.
Campbell ran with the lead pack of seven well ahead of the rest of the field for the first 6,400 meters. Despite maintaining her split times, three runners passed her on the next lap, and she eventually dropped as far back as 10th with 2,400 meters to go. However, she worked her way back up to eighth with back-to-back laps with negative splits and was able to hold that spot through the finish and clock a 38:22.52.
Graduate student
Aidan Massey had the same early success as Campbell, running with a lead pack of seven for the first 8,400 meters. However, with four laps to go he dropped two spots to ninth. He crossed the line in 32:09.23.
"It was a tight pack for a long time. (it) just eventually broke up," Dixon said. "(He) did about what I expected."
Sophomore
AJ Hawkins sat in the back portion of the field for most of the first 8,800 meters, putting together negative splits on his final six laps, saving his fastest lap for his last, before working his way up to 10th and covering the distance in a "pr" of 32:44.87.
Junior
Aidan Whitsell ran 4,000 meters before pulling out and finishing in 15th.
Defending champion Southeast Missouri leads the men's pack after Thursday's results with 48 points. Eastern Illinois sits second with 30 points, followed by Southern Indiana with 27 points, Little Rock with seven points, UT Martin with three points and Tennessee State with two points. MSU, SIU Edwardsville and Western Illinois did not score.
Among the women, the race is much closer. Defending champ Southeast Missouri has a four-point lead with 24 points. Southern Indiana and Western Illinois are tied with 20 points. Little Rock is fourth with 14 points. SIU Edwardsville is fifth with 13.50 points. Tennessee Tech is sixth with 13 points. Eastern Illinois is seventh with 10.50 points and Morehead State is eighth with one point. Lindenwood, UT Martin and Tennessee State have yet to score.
Friday's competition begins at 10 a.m. ET with the decathlon's 110-meter hurdles. At 2:30 p.m. ET, the women's high jump opens the field events, before the running gets underway at 4 p.m. ET with the men's 110m hurdle prelims. MSU's first competition will be the men's 400-meter dash at 4:35 p.m. ET and the Eagles will be in action in all but one event the rest of the day.
The men's 400m field will include Afari, who is seeded sixth with a "pr" of 47.90, Witt, who is seeded 11th with a "pr" of 49.26, and freshman
Jayce Stewart, who is seeded 20th with a "pr" of 51.05. Witt is in heat one, and Afari and Stewart are in heat two. There are 12 total athletes entered. The top finisher in each heat, plus the next six fastest times, will advance to Saturday's final.
The women's 400m is at 4:50 p.m. ET. Sophomores
Maryah Counts and
Olivia Miles are the Eagle representatives. Counts, who owns the school record, is seeded fifth with a top time of 56.97. Miles finished 16th last year in 59.78. She is seeded 23rd with a "pr" of 59.17. Counts is in heat two, while Miles is in heat three. There are 20 total entries. The top finisher in each heat, plus the next five fastest times, will advance to Saturday's final.
At 5 p.m. ET, the women's long jump will begin. Pease owns the school record and is tied for seventh nationally. She has the top overall mark (6.54m/21'05.25") by over a foot and a half. In addition to attempting to take home the title, she will be shooting for the OVC meet record, which was set by
Rachel Hagans of Murray State at 6.44m/21'01.50" in 2022. In addition, the facility record is 5.93m and is in danger of being broken.
Junior
Ginger Hayden is seeded ninth with a top mark of 5.56m/18'03.00". Last year, she finished 13th in 5.34m/17'06.25". Sophomore
Brooklyn Boyce also is entered. She is seeded 26th with a top distance of 5.21m/17'01.25".
There will be two flights, with a total of 20 entries. Each athlete will get three jumps in the prelims. Boyce is in the first flight, with Pease and Hayden in the second. The athletes with the top eight distances will move on to the finals, where they will have three additional attempts. The finals will take place on Friday afternoon.
The men's 100-meter dash is at 5:05 p.m. ET. The Eagles will have four entries: Stepteau and Kelly, sophomore
Mark Whitener, and junior
Cade Sullivan. Stepteau is seeded 13th with a "pr" of 10.68. Whitener is next in 19th at 10.82. Kelly is 20th at 10.84 and Sullivan is 29th with a season-best 11.10. Last year, Whitener was 10th in 10.88, with Sullivan in 18th in 11.06. There will be three heats with 20 total entries. The top finisher, plus the next five fastest times, will advance to Saturday's finals. Stepteau will be in heat one, Kelly will be in heat two, and Whitener and Sullivan will be in heat three.
The women's race will be at 5:20 p.m. ET. Pease, ranked second, holds the school record with an 11.67. Alford is seeded fifth with a top time of 11.84. There will be four heats with 25 total entries. The top finisher in each heat, plus the next four fastest times will move on to Saturday's finals. Alford is in heat one, Pease is in heat three.
Tennessee Tech's Kennedi Winbush (11.60) is the top seed.
MSU will have three entries in the men's 800-meter run, which will begin at 5:35 p.m. ET. There will be three heats with a total of 23 entrants. The top two finishers in each heat, plus the next two fastest times, will advance to Saturday's finals.
Sophomore
Weston Blair is seeded 14th with a career-best time of 1:52.69. Last year, he finished 25th in 2:13.92. Lamb has a season best of 1:57.63. He is seeded 29th. Parido has a season-best time of 1:58.80. He is seeded 33rd. In 2025, he was 21st in 1:58.43. Parido will be in heat one, Blair in heat two and Lamb in heat three.
The women's 800m will begin at 5:55 p.m. ET. There will be four heats, featuring a total of 25 athletes. The heat winners, plus the next four fastest times, will advance to Saturday's finals. MSU will only have one runner, Holman, who is seeded seventh with a season-best time of 2:15.51. Last year, she was 15th in 2:23.10. She will be in heat two.
The men's 3,000-meter steeplechase will take place at 6:15 p.m. ET. However, MSU will not have an entry.
The final event of the night will be the women's 3,000m steeplechase at 6:35 p.m. ET. There are two heats and 21 total runners. However, the steeplechase is a finals-only race. MSU will have two representatives, senior
Abby Taylor and junior
Adi Fuller. Taylor, who finished second last year in 11:17.61, is seeded third with a season-best mark of 11:13.56. Fuller is seeded seventh. Her MSU "pr" is 11:29.35. Both Eagles are in heat two.
Last year's champion, Eastern Illinois' Rylea Borgic is back to defend her title. However, she is seeded behind Taylor in fourth with a top time of 11:14.24. Western Illinois' Emma-Kate Watt (10:59.92) and UT Martin's Reese Settle (11:06.42) are the top two seeds.
The action will conclude on Saturday with all events being finals. The day will begin at noon ET with the women's shot put and the women's triple jump. MSU will compete in the latter event, with Hayden as its representative. She is seeded 13th with a season-best mark of 11.41m/37'05.25". Last year, she finished 12th in 11.10m/36'05.00", which set a school record. There will be two flights with a total of 21 competitors. Hayden will be in the first flight.
The men's and women's 4x100-meter relays will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET (men) and 1:40 p.m. ET (women). MSU will have entries in both races. The Eagle foursome in the men's event is Whitener, Afari, Kelly and Stepteau; with Sullivan, Stewart and Witt as the alternates. The group has a top time of 41.10, which is fifth-fastest in the conference. Last year, MSU's quartet finished seventh in 42.90. There are seven total entries.
The women's 4x100m group will include
Kalynn Pease, Alford, Miles and Counts. Boyce, Stark, junior
Erin Pease, Hayden and Holman are all alternates. The Eagles' top time this year is 46.81, which ranks fifth in the OVC. Last year, MSU placed eighth in 49.43. There are nine entries spread between two heats of the race, with the Eagles in section two.
The ensuing events all had qualifying rounds earlier in the meet. The men's and women's 1,500m finals are at 1:50 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. ET, respectively. The men's 110m and women's 100-meter hurdles finals are at 2:15 p.m. ET and 2:25 p.m. ET, respectively. The men's and women's 400m finals are at 2:35 p.m. ET and 2:45 p.m. ET, respectively. The men's and women's 100m finals are at 2:55 p.m. ET and 3 p.m. ET, respectively. The men's and women's 800m finals are at 3:10 p.m. ET and 3:15 p.m. ET, respectively. The men's and women's 400m hurdles finals are at 3:30 p.m. ET and 3:35 p.m. ET, respectively. And lastly, the men's and women's 200m finals are at 3:45 p.m. ET and 3:50 p.m. ET, respectively.
At 4 p.m. ET, the women's javelin will take place.
Erin Pease is MSU's entry. She is seeded 10th with an MSU "pr" of 33.83m/111'00". There is one flight and 14 total competitors.
The 5,000m is the final individual event. The men will run at 4 p.m. ET, followed by the women at 4:20 p.m. ET. The Eagles have four entries in both races. There will be only one section of the race and it will be finals only. Twenty-five individuals will be in each event.
Neither Arnett nor Holman have competed in that distance collegiately and both are entered.
Massey is the Eagles' top men's seed at 18th. His season "pr" is 15:00.65. Hawkins is seeded 32nd with a top time of 15:21.26, while junior
Aidan Whitsell is 39th with a season best of 15:37.44. Last year, he finished 23rd in 16:48.04.
The other three Morehead State women raced in the event last spring. Campbell is the primary contender. She is seeded 12th with a top mark this season of 17:40.46. In 2025, she was 12th in 18:23.30. Brittian is seeded 16th with a "pr" of 17:57.58. She did not finish the race last May and tied for 28th. Taylor is seeded 40th. She has only run the 5,000m once this outdoor season, crossing the line in 19:42.48. She was 20th last year in 19:07.33.
The 4x400-meter relay will conclude the meet. The men's race will be at 5:05 p.m. ET, with the women's race at 5:20 p.m. ET.
Morehead State's men are seeded fifth and are expected to include Afari, Stepteau, Stewart and Witt. Their top time this season is 3:18.80. Last year's foursome finished seventh in 3:25.84. However, no one from that team will be in Saturday's race unless Dixon has to dig into his alternates, which will include Kelly, Sullivan, Blair and Whitener. There are two heats with nine total entries. The Eagles will be in heat two.
The MSU women are seeded second and hold the school record of 3:51.08, breaking the mark held by last year's quartet which finished 10th in 3:57.80. Saturday's lineup is expected to include
Kalynn Pease, Alford, Miles and Counts. The latter two were part of last year's race. Morehead State's alternates will be Boyce, Stark, Holman and Hayden.
All 11 teams will have entries broken into two sections. The Eagles will be in section two. Western Illinois is the top seed with a time of 3:50.39.
The league will recognize each school's graduates who are competing this weekend in a ceremony at 5:40 p.m. ET. After that, there will be an award ceremony at 5:55 p.m.
Live results are available at the link:
https://milesplit.live/meets/750633/scoreboard.
ESPN+ will broadcast all three days of competition. Friday's broadcast will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET and can be accessed at the link:
https://shorturl.at/Yyys8. On Saturday, the broadcast will begin at 2 p.m. ET and can be watched through the link:
https://shorturl.at/4Bdj3.
For additional information about the Championships, fans can check tournament central at the website
https://ovcsports.com/tournaments/?id=69.
The OVC Championships will not be the final meet of the season for the Blue and Gold.
Kalynn Pease is expected to qualify in the long jump for the NCAA East Regional meet at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., that will take place between Wednesday, May 27 and Saturday, May 30. If Pease finishes in the top 12 at the regional, she will advance on to the NCAA Championships, which will run from Wednesday, June 10 through Saturday, June 13 at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.
