Racers Perform Well at Margaret Simmons Invitational

The 2025 outdoor season got underway at the Margaret Simmons Invitational, the Murray State Racers' home meet at Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.

The event was sponsored by The Murray Insurance Agency.

With Coach Simmons on hand, the Racers competed on the Marshall Gage Track, as two MSU Hall of Famers were honored in the two-day event that featured 10 teams.

The Racers had six first place finishes at home including a 1-2 finish in the Heptathlon with Andrea Segovia and Lindley Johnston. Other first place showings for MSU included Serena Backwood (100M Dash), Darrione Joseph (100M Hurdles), Alexis Meloche (Javelin), Diamonasia Taylor (High Jump) and Ruth Mimutai (5000M Run).

The rest of the spring season for the Racers includes stops in St. Louis, Carbondale, Ill., Columbia, S.C., Terre Haute, Ind., Louisville and Nashville before heading back to Carbondale for the Missouri Valley Championships (May 17-18).

Meet Notes

The Simmons Invitational was also a great time to honor the Racers' senior student-athletes.
A ceremony was held just before the events began at noon.
The Racers went 1,2, 5 & 6 in the 100M Dash with Serena Blackwood, Amahrie Harsh, Kinsey Huber and Madelyn Muller performed well.
Presley Gallimore placed fifth in the 200M Dash at 25.43.
Simone Joseph placed fourth in the 800M Run at 2:18.93 and Gallimore was fifth at 2:20.47.
Jocelyn Host placed third in the 5000M Run at 18:41.58.
In the 4X400M Relay, Kylie Gormann, Anna Shaffer, Jocelyn Host and Andrea Segovia placed second at 4:02.40.
Ayla Rice placed fourth in the Discus with a throw of 34.94M.
Taylor placed second in the Long Jump at 5.57M and was third in the Triple Jump at 11.93M.
Katie Schneider was second in the Pole Vault at 3.50M.

The event is named in honor of the founder of the MSU women's program, Coach Margaret Simmons. One of the most highly respected members of her profession, Simmons is still a well-known in the sport even decades after her coaching career ended. Arriving at Murray State in 1967, Simmons had a vision to start a women's track & field program and she did in 1968 and she also started the women's cross country program in 1971. In 23 years with the Racers, Coach Simmons and the Racers won eight Ohio Valley Conference championships and were runner-up twice and she was a six-time OVC Coach of the Year. She was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Hall of Fame in 2003, Murray State Hall of Fame in 2004. Kentucky Track and Cross-Country Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2008 and the OVC Hall of Fame in 2014.

Gage was a student-athlete with the Racers from 1957-61 and was a dominant force for the Racers in the Ohio Valley Conference. Gage, from Dallas, set the MSU all-time scoring mark in a period of time when dual meets were popular. He scored 150 points in 1958. That same spring, he won the High Hurdles, Low Hurdles and the 100-yard Dash. An ardent supporter of the Racers, the track at MSU was named in his honor in 1996. Gage was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 1967 and later was bestowed Murray State Golden Horseshoe Award and also served as a trustee of the Murray State University Foundation. He passed away in 2019 at age 82.

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

Track & Field Seniors

Murray State University

Players Mentioned

Serena Blackwood

Presley Gallimore

Kylie Gormann

Amahrie Harsh

Jocelyn Host

Kinsey Huber

Lindley Johnston

Darrione Joseph

Simone Joseph

Alexis Meloche

Madelyn Muller

Ayla Rice

Katie Schneider

Andrea Segovia

Anna Shaffer

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