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Dixon Announces Cross Country/Track and Field Signing Class

https://msueagles.com/

Morehead State head cross country and track and field coach Clay Dixon has announced the official signings of 12 newcomers to the programs. The class includes 10 women and two men.

The newest women's Eagles are Emily Lowe, Christiana Brittian, Casey Skaggs, Hope Harris, Natalie Curry, Kaylyn Holman, Natalia Davis, Julia Douglas, Abby Taylor and Karis Applegate. The men's additions are Gavin Brock and Micah Gray.

Lowe comes from Male High School in Louisville, Ky. Her career highlights include a second place finish at the 2022 KTCCCA indoor state meet in the 800m, a third place finish in the 2021 400m at the 3A KHSAA outdoor state meet, and running on the 4x800 relay team that placed eighth at the 2022 state outdoor meet. She was also on the 4x400 relay team that placed second at the 2021 state outdoor meet.

"Emily will be an immediate impact on our long sprints group," sad Dixon. "She also has range to possibly run up in distance to the 800m."

Brittian graduated from Nelson County (Ky.) High School. She concluded her high school career with a ninth place finish in the 3200m at the 2022 2A KHSAA outdoor state meet. In 2021 she placed eighth in the 1600m at the state outdoor meet. In cross country she place eighth in the KHSAA state race her senior year. Her junior year she placed 18th.

"Christiana looks to be a contributor in cross country and has lots of potential in the longer distances on the track," Dixon commented. "She was not a very high mileage runner in high school, and I think she has lots of room for growth."

Skaggs graduated from Thomas Nelson High School in Bardstown, Ky. In her first track season as a distance runner, she placed 13th in the 3200m at the 2A KHSAA outdoor state meet. She placed seventh in the 3000m run at the state indoor meet.

"I'm really excited to see what Casey can do in college running," Dixon said. "She showed lots of potential with just a year of distance running under her belt. I think she can have huge upside and develop into a solid distance runner in the OVC."

Harris comes from just down the interstate at Ashland (Ky.) Paul Blazer High School. She comes off a track season where she placed 11th in the 2A KHSAA outdoor state meet in the 3200m. In her junior year she placed ninth in the same event. She had six top-10 finishes in cross country her senior year out of 10 races.

"Hope shows lots of promise in the distance events, especially in cross country. She is used to being up in the lead pack but should also be up for the challenge of some difficult courses since that's what she has raced on most of her career," Dixon said.

Curry graduated from Ryle High School in Northern Kentucky. She comes in with many years of distance running experience and has competed at the state cross country meet once.

"I'm looking forward to training Natalie and developing her over the next few years," Dixon added. "She could be a contributor here in a few years after some development."

Holman graduated from Crothersville High School in Crothersville, Ind. She boasts times of 5:19.22 in the 1600m and 11:50.57 in the 3200m. She qualified for the IHSAA state cross country meet on two occasions, where she placed 99th and 85th overall individually.

"Kaylyn can really be a good runner here in the OVC," Dixon said. "With some quality and consistent training she can contribute on the cross country course and on the track."

Davis graduated from Henderson County High School in Henderson, Ky. She qualified for 3A KHSAA outdoor state meet in the 100m dash on three occasions where she placed as high as 10th overall. She also qualified for the state outdoor meet twice in the 200m. She boasts personal bests of 12.59 and 26.37 in the 100m and 200m.

"Natalia should become a key contributor to our 4x100m relay team and has lots of potential to develop into a good short sprints threat in the OVC," said Dixon.

Douglas graduated from Smithson Valley High School, just north of San Antonio,Texas. She comes in with several top-three finishes in her district meets from 1600m, 3200m, and in cross country 5K.

"I'm excited to work with Julia these next few years. She is excited to be coming back to Kentucky (she grew up near Lexington but her and her family moved to Texas) and I think she can be a positive impact on the team and develop into a contributor," said Dixon.

Taylor comes from Lebanon High School in Lebanon, Ohio. She qualified for the OHSAA state cross country meet her junior and senior years. She has multiple top-10 finishes in her cross country career. On the track, Taylor boasts personal bests of 5:21.50 in the 1600m, 11:31.87 in the 3200m, and 7:42.10 in the 2000m steeplechase.

"Abby can be an immediate impact on the cross country and track team," Dixon added. "She has potential to be in the top-seven of our cross country team and on the track in the OVC, she could be a very solid 3000m steeplechase runner."

Applegate comes from Maysville, Ky., where she graduated from Mason County High School. She has personal bests in the 100m and 200m dash of 12.75 and 26.44. She has scored points on multiple occasions at state meets in 55m, 60m, 100m, and 200m. Her senior year she placed fourth at the indoor state meet in the 60m and 200m. Her junior year saw her place second in both the 60m and 200m at state indoor races.

"Karis can be a very solid sprinter here at Morehead State. With her, our other short sprinters coming in this year, and on the team we can have a very solid 4x100m relay team," Dixon said. "She is used to winning and bringing that kind of mentality into a team can be incredibly beneficial."

Brock graduated from Boyd County (Ky.) High School . He placed 13th in the 1600m run at the 2A KHSAA outdoor state meet his senior and junior years. He also placed fifth his senior year in the 800m at the KTCCCA indoor state meet and third in the 800m his junior year. In cross country he has multiple top-10 finishes and finished as high as 26th place at the state meet .

"Gavin is looking to take that next step, and I think he has the tools to develop into a good distance runner," Dixon said. "He also is very versatile and has run as short as the 200m but also as far as the 3200m on the track and 5K in cross country."

Gray transfers from Eastern Kentucky after beginning his college career at Kent State. Gray graduated from Princeton High School in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2020. In high school he ran 1:55.97 in the 800m, which qualified him for the Ohio state meet.

"Micah is a talented runner, and I think with just a little distance training he can be a major impact on the team and in the OVC," Dixon concluded.

By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations