Lamb, Massey Named OVC Runners of the Week

Morehead State had both ends of its age spectrum earn Ohio Valley Conference Male and Female Runner of the Week honors after the team’s second race of the season. Doctoral student Aidan Massey and freshman Shelby Lamb claimed the respective honors based on their performance in the Invitational Division of last Friday’s Southern Showcase, which took place in Huntsville, Ala. The league office announced the winners on Wednesday afternoon.

It was the second award for Massey and the first for Lamb, who is sharing the honor with Southeast Missouri’s Nova Ojutkangas, the two-time conference champion.

Morehead State head coach Clay Dixon compared the Eagle pair to some of the teams’ top athletes over the last 10 years.

“They have both been training like maniacs. I’ve not seen workouts like theirs since Sierra Poppell, Alex Morris, Justin Moakler and Farah Abdulkareem,” he said. “It’s going to be a fun season.”

Massey won the honor last year after leading the pack of Ohio Valley Conference competitors at the Angel Mounds Invitational. This week’s award was the fourth honor in the last three years for the MSU men. Massey is MSU’s first Runner of the Week since former Eagles Jacob Vogelpohl and Laikin Tarlton were both selected on October 16, 2024. That also marked the last Morehead State female honoree and the last time the Blue and Gold had both genders honored in the same week.

On Friday, Massey placed 33rd out of a field of at least 304, with an 8K time of 24:44.2. It was the fourth consecutive race he posted a sub-25-minute mark at that distance and the fourth fastest time of his career. He is the lone MSU runner to crack 25 minutes since October of 2022.

In Friday’s race, Massey made his biggest move between the 1.6K and 4.6K mark, when he jumped up 47 places. He edged Arkansas State’s Carlo Martinez-Jaramil at the finish line by four hundredths of a second. His performance was the team’s best at the meet by an Eagle male by 141 places.

It was a huge turnaround from two weeks ago at the season-opening EKU Invitational, when he did not finish the 5K race. It was the fifth time in seven career races with the Eagles where Massey was the team’s top finisher.

“Being selected again is rowdy. I feel 10-feet tall and strong as an ox,” he said. “Thankful for the coaching staff, the guys, and my family and friends back home. Shoutout to my folks for being the best, and to my brother Miles for getting Player of the Week at receiver back home, too. Pretty cool week for the Masseys. Ready to keep getting after it and stay dialed in for Louisville.”

Now in his second year with the Eagles after transferring from NAIA’s Baker University, the Olathe, Kan., native finished fifth in the OVC at the 2025 championship meet. He ranks eighth on MSU’s all-time performers’ list. His 24:44.2 time is currently the fastest in the OVC. Southern Indiana’s Alex Nolan clocked a 24:46.0 on September 11.

“Massey looked strong (at the Southern Showcase),” Dixon said.

“It wasn’t the time I had in mind, but I got after it. It was real hot outside – definitely some moments of mental toughness in there trying to keep ripping it,” Massey added. “Talking to (Coach) Dixon after helped put it in perspective, too. It was a good opportunity and I’m thankful for it. Just staying dialed in now and ready to go rip a faster one at Louisville.”

Lamb is believed to have run the fastest 5K debut time for an Eagle woman in school history. Her performance on Friday is the fifth-best mark on MSU’s all-time top performers’ list.

She finished 37th overall and 36th among collegians in a race had at least 312 participants. She crossed the line in 17:39.1, just 33.1 seconds slower than the school record set by Poppell in 2018, and the fastest in the OVC by almost a minute.

“Lamb looked smooth throughout. She had a great first challenge of the season,” Dixon said.

Her time was the fastest by an MSU female at that distance since Sierra Poppell ran a 17:28.8 at the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Championships. Her finish at that meet was the highest for an Eagle woman by 80 spots.

A native of Richmond, Ky., and a graduate of Madison Central High School, Lamb is the younger sister of MSU junior Carter Lamb. In high school, she finished in the top 10 three times at the Class 3A meet and was a two-time regional champion.

“I’m really honored and grateful to be named co-OVC Runner of the Week. It means a lot, especially knowing how much work our whole team has put in,” she said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish together, and I’m excited to keep working and improving. I’m thankful for my teammates and coaches for pushing me every day and helping me get to this point!”

On Friday, Lamb came off the starting line and sat 53rd after the first 1.6K, before gradually moving up over the remainder of the race. Her biggest jump came when she moved 13 spots to 40th between the 1.6K and 3.2K marks.

“The race was great and the heat was definitely a big factor. It ended up heating up by about five degrees throughout the race, if I had a guess, and the humidity was also a pretty big factor,” she said. “I knew going into the race it was gonna be a quick start and be super competitive, so I wanted to be sure I had a good spot. I also knew that there was a big hill right at the two-mile mark and that’s where I planned to pass a lot of the girls. I executed the plan pretty well; I am just excited to get some congestion out and feel 110% for the next race!”

Ojutkangas won the OVC Conference Preview with a time of 21:45.2 in the 6K. It is the fastest time at that distance in the conference this season and her second Runner of the Week award in 2026, after previously being a co-honoree on September 9.

In the team standings at the talent-laden Southern Showcase, Morehead State’s men finished 22nd and the women were 23rd. Alabama won the title in both races.

The Eagles will return to the course on Saturday, Oct. 3 for the Swags Louisville Cross Country Classic in Louisville, Ky. It will be MSU’s lone Saturday competition of the year.

The OVC Championships will be held on Friday, Oct. 30 at Cape Girardeau, Mo.