Racers Receive Top Spot In MVC Pre-Championship Poll

2/23/2024 2:10:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

Murray State is set to make an impression with 138 points and six first-place votes ahead of Indiana State with 133 points and four first-place votes.

By: Drew Parsley/Graduate Assistant

The Murray State women's track and field team head into the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships atop the Coaches Pre-Championship poll, the league office announced Friday afternoon.

Murray State received the most first-place votes in the 2024 MVC Pre-Championship poll, sitting just five points ahead of Indiana State with 138 points. Five different Racers hold top spots in five different indoor events and 21 top-10 spots across all indoor events.

Faith Bostick holds the top conference spot in the 60-meter dash at 7.39 seconds, setting a new personal and program record at the Bellarmine Classic in February. The senior also sits in third in the 200-meter at 24.25 seconds.

The top two spots in the 400-meter are currently held by Chelby Melvin and Kayla Bell, separated by just over a tenth of a second (54.44, 54.60). Anouk Krause-Jentsch and Darrione Joseph also sit top 10 in the 400 with times of 55.68 and 56.43. Bell also sits in the runner-up spot in the 800-meter with a time of 2:06.83, just over two seconds behind Bradley's Julia Nielsen.

Amirr Evans sits in sixth in the same event with a time of 2:11.27 which is an indoor personal best for the senior. Melvin holds another runner-up spot in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.54 seconds recorded at the season-opening Saluki Fast Start with Jenna Pauly just two spots behind her with 8.60 seconds clocked at the Vanderbilt Invitational, a personal best recorded in the pentathlon.

The Racers hold the top conference spot in the 4x400-meter relay with a program record time of 3:39.60, over eight seconds ahead of Southern Illinois' time. Three Racers are top five in the high jump led by Meghan Fletcher with a height of 1.76m, just .04m short of her personal record that was accomplished at the 2023 MVC Indoor Championships. Pauly and Brooke Probst sit just behind Fletcher in a tie for third at 1.72m.

Pauly also sits top 10 in pole vault at 3.80m, followed by freshman newcomer Tayla Tootle who sits 10th at 3.70m. Pauly is the lone Racer in the top 10 of the long jump at 5.95m, .05m short of another personal best for the senior out of McHenry, Illinois. Pauly rounds out her impressive showing with the top spot in the pentathlon nearly 300 points ahead of UNI's Katy Stephens with 3800 points, which was a personal and program record.

Andrea Segovia is also in the top five after competing in her first multi event with 3403 points. Alyssa Williams rounds out an impressive Murray State lineup with a runner-up spot in the triple jump at 11.76m. Murray State looks for a strong showing at their second MVC Indoor Championship.

The championship meet will begin on Sunday, February 25 at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center at Gately Park in Chicago, Illinois.

For more information on the Murray State track and field team, visit GoRacers.com or follow @RacersXCTF on Instagram and X.