Story Links MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the second straight year, the Morehead State outdoor track & field teams will travel to nearby Richmond, Ky., for the Eastern Kentucky Spring Invitational at the Tom Samuels Track on Friday.Besides MSU and EKU, Bellarmine, Berea (Ky.), Charleston (W.Va.), Dayton, Kentucky State, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), Pikeville (Ky.), Rio Grande […]
MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the second straight year, the Morehead State outdoor track & field teams will travel to nearby Richmond, Ky., for the Eastern Kentucky Spring Invitational at the Tom Samuels Track on Friday.Besides MSU and EKU, Bellarmine, Berea (Ky.), Charleston (W.Va.), Dayton, Kentucky State, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), Pikeville (Ky.), Rio Grande (Ohio), Spalding (Ky.), Union (Ky.) and Xavier (Ohio) also have entries.Next weekend a handful of Eagles will travel to St. Louis for the Washington (Mo.) Distance Carnival. That meet will take place on Thursday, Mar. 27 and Friday, Mar. 28.Last year, sophomore Ginger Hayden was second in the long jump in 4.89 (16’00.5″) and third in the triple jump in 10.29 (33’09.00″). She is just entered in the long jump on Friday.The Eagles are coming off an extremely successful indoor season. Although it did not translate into a higher placing at the Ohio Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships three and a half weeks ago, the Blue and Gold notched 10 personal or season bests there and had its first conference champion in 22 years.It also is the team’s lone competition in Richmond this spring. The originally-scheduled annual trip to the Rick Erdmann Invitational in late April has been cancelled.Six women are entered in their version of the 200m event, which is slated to start at 2:25 p.m. That group will include sophomore Cheyenne Stark, who was 11th in the 400-meter run last March in 1:07.17; as well as redshirt freshman Lauren Gooderson; plus true freshmen Brooklyn Boyce, Olivia Miles, Aaliyah Rodgers and Mia Underwood.The meet is not expected to be scored, although it was last year when the men finished fourth and the women fifth.Live results are available for the meet at the link: https://live.timingking.com/meets/45599.”The team has been looking good with their transition to outdoor,” he said. “(We’re) hoping for some good weather to get some fast times.”The Eagles’ first appearance on the track will come at 11:55 a.m., with the men’s 1,500-meter run. MSU has redshirt seniors Wes Grogan and Jacob Vogelpohl, plus sophomore Garrett West and freshman Preston Glassco entered. Last March, Vogelpohl finished eighth in 4:03.44, while West ran the 800-meter run and took sixth in 2:01.31.The 4x400m relay will begin at 3:10 p.m. for the men and 3:15 p.m. for the women.Dixon will have two entries in both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relays. Lamb, Carr, Glass and Whitener will make up one men’s group. Baker, Hurley, Parido and Blair will be the other foursome. Last year’s combination of West, Micah Gray, Carr and Sam Lucas was third in 3:40.06.The men’s 800m will begin at 1:35 p.m. MSU has entered sophomore Brady Baker; and three freshmen: Weston Blair, Carter Hurley and Carter Lamb. Baker ran the 1,500m last year and was 18th in 4:33.67.The women’s 1,500m will begin at 12:15 p.m., and include redshirt junior Megan Bush; juniors Natalie Curry, Kaylyn Holman and Hope Harris; and sophomores Taylor Allen and Lani Baskett. All but Curry competed at the 2024 meet, with Allen leading the way in the 1,500m by taking fifth in 4:57.78. Holman followed in eighth in 5:06.71, with Bush in 10th in 5:14.18. Baskett competed in the 3,000-meter run and placed 11th in 12:06.77, while Harris claimed 14th in the 800m in 2:46.05.The gun for the women’s 800m will go off at 1:45 p.m. Senior Lucy Singleton; juniors Lydia Bauer, Holman and Casey Skaggs; and sophomore Emily Spradlin will represent the Blue and Gold. Spradlin was the lone entry to run last year, when she finished 13th in 2:45.20. Skaggs also competed at the 2024 meet, taking 14th in the 3,000m in 13:12.01.The men have a break before returning at 1:15 p.m. for the 100-meter dash. Freshman Mark Whitener is the Eagles’ representative.Coach Dixon is sending 16 men to compete 18 times and 21 women to participate 23 times. In total, the team is entered in 12 events.Last April’s event was seemingly misnamed, since the weather was anything but springlike. However, MSU coach Clay Dixon hopes that will change.The women’s quartets are Rodgers, Underwood, Counts and Miles; and Stark, Gooderson, Holman and Boyce. MSU did not have an entry in the women’s race last year.Freshman sprinter Maryah Counts will make her debut for the Blue and Gold after sitting out the entire indoor season recovering from surgery on her leg.A total of 13 teams are expected to attend Friday’s meet, which will begin at 10 a.m. with three throwing events. The Eagles will get into action at 11:45 a.m. with the women’s long jump. The men’s 4×100-meter relay will begin the track events also at the same time.The final individual race is the 3,000m. The men will start at 2:40 p.m., with the women at 2:55 p.m. Senior Austin Montgomery; sophomores Keghan Thompson and Aidan Whitsell; and freshmen Brody Coleman and Liam Parido are in the men’s event. Whitsell ran it last year and placed 11th in 9:19.63. Thompson and Montgomery were both in the 1,500m. Thompson finished 17th in 4:19.63, with Montgomery in 19th in 4:35.48.The 2024 version of the EKU Spring Invitational meet was a success for the Blue and Gold. The Eagles set nine outdoor season’s best marks, earned 13 podium finishes, collected five more top-10 results and won a heat. Half of those who repeated their events from the previous weekend’s 49er Classic in Charlotte, N.C., also improved their times. In addition, the men’s squad outscored Kentucky, 16 to 13.It will be the outdoor season opener for Morehead State, which is starting its campaign a week later than last year when the EKU meet was second on the docket. It is the second incarnation of the event.The men’s 200-meter dash will include sophomore Derril Carr. He will attempt to duplicate his result from last spring when he won his heat. Overall, he was 10th in 23.29. He also ran the 100m and claimed seventh in 11.56. His race is at 2:15 p.m.The women’s 3,000m competition will include junior Abby Taylor, redshirt sophomore Christiana Brittian and freshman Meredith Campbell. Taylor was eighth in the race last year in 10:46.79.
