Alexis Love To Be Inducted In Murray State Hall Of Fame
BY C.S. HOWARD
The Murray State Athletics department announced the 37th class of the MSU Hall of Fame. The 2019 class of nine – five men and four women – includes a pair of greats from football and men’s track & field, as well as one selection each from men’s basketball, women’s track & field, rifle and coaches. Alexis Love, who attended Murray State from 2009-2013, is being inducted as a sprinter from women’s and track field. Love arrived at Murray State in 2009 after graduating from Palmetto High School where she was involved with varsity track and field for four years, girls weightlifting team, member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Student Government Association. At MSU, she was a three-time state finalist and was looking to advance her running career with the Racers. Working primarily with assistant coach Adam Kiesler, she did exactly that when she shot into the national spotlight as a junior. In 2012, she was named the OVC Female Track & Field Athlete of the Year and the Athlete of the OVC Championship, earned status as a three-time All-America honors. In the conference outdoor meet, Love accounted for 23.5 points when she won the 100m and 200m dashes (set the 200m OVC Championship record) and she anchored the 4x100m relay winner as well as the fifth place team in the 4x400m relay. She set the OVC record in the 200m at the NCAA Regional and also advanced to the finals in the 100m event where she placed sixth. The big take-away from that showing was that her 100m time of 11.28 and in the 200m of 23:33 surpassed the Olympic A Standard, which opened her up to an entirely different opportunity. Love’s next stop was at the USA Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, where she was one of only five athletes in the semifinals that were still in school against 13 runners that were professionals.
Love made it to the semifinals in each event before bowing out. She was close as anyone in MSU history to becoming the first Racer to qualify for the Olympics for Team USA. Since graduating from Murray State in 2013 with a degree in criminal justice, Love has carved out a career as one of the top professional sprinters in the country the hard way. Void of a sponsorship contract, she has been a full-time self-funded professional athlete and has stayed relevant in the national sprint scene. In 2016, Love was back at the USA Olympic Trials and has competed internationally as well. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in November and includes a Friday, November 15 dinner and class recognition at the Murray State football game on Saturday, November 16. There will also be recognition for the group at a Murray State Basketball game after the football game. Alexis’ favorite quote is:
“creativity is the soul of the true scholar” (Nnamdi Azikiwe).
She is the author of “Running for my Life: The Diary of Alexis Love”, a journey she has been chronicling via writing and using her story to track and field prominence to inspire others. The book aims to help others reach their own potential. She is on a relentless pursuit of competing in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She is the daughter of Jacqueline Anderson and Anthony Love Sr.
