Junior Kyle Embry (Hartford, Ky./Ohio County HS) parlayed his second-place finish and 15:44.00 time at Friday's eastern Kentucky Tri-Meet into an Ohio Valley Conference accolade as he was named the league's Men's Cross Country Co-Runner of the Week on Tuesday.
It was the first such honor for Embry and the first for a Morehead State runner since Farah Abdulkarim was recognized on September 19, 2017. Like Embry, Abdulkarim was a co-Runner of the Week.
Embry shared the award with Southern Indiana's Noah Hufnagel, who was third in a field of 146 at the Appalachian State Covered Bridge Classic. Hufnagel clocked an OVC-best 25:12.7 in the 8K race.
"I'm very grateful to receive the award and be able to represent Morehead in that way," Embry said. "Honestly, I haven't put too much thought into it. It's so early in the season and I have a lot more goals for myself and the team. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of what's to come."
Embry's time was more than 12 seconds faster for that distance than any OVC athlete so far this season. It was also the quickest by an Eagle since Abdulkarim, Justin Moakler and Shane Rigsby all run under 15:41 at the Eagle Opener, which was held on the former MSU Sunny Brook Golf Course, on September 1, 2017. In addition, his time bettered redshirt sophomore Garrett Watts' top 5K mark of 15:47.94, which was the fastest on the team last season.
"It is great to see how Kyle has developed over the years and I'm expecting him to have a strong season (this fall)," MSU coach Clay Dixon said. "It's awesome for him to be recognized out of the (more than one) hundred(s) of athletes who competed this week."
Friday's race was the sixth time in his career that he was the top Eagle finisher. He also led the club at the same meet in the spring of 2021, when he placed seventh in the then-6K race in 19:31.00. Last year, he was 12th in 16:16.18. Friday's performance was a 32-second drop off of last fall's mark.
Morehead State finished third overall in the tri-meet, which was scored as a double head-to-head competition, but the other two teams were host eastern Kentucky and Kentucky. Both are ranked (seventh and ninth, respectively) in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's Southeast Region pre-season poll.
Embry bested all six Wildcat runners and seven of the eight Colonel entries, only falling to eKU's Ahmed Kadri (15:39.00). He edged out a pack of four as he crossed the line, each of which were within two seconds of him.
It was the highest overall finish in his four-year career and the best since Jarrett Mattingly won the Evansville Invitational on October 19, 2019. His top previous mark was when he placed seventh at the eastern Kentucky Dual on January 23, 2021.
Morehead State will be off a week before returning to compete in the Michigan State Spartan Invitational on September 16.