Messages

4996

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Basketball recruiting target - 6-4 G Jonathan Octeus Wabash Valley CC

« on: April 17, 2012, 06:26:16 AM »

High school basketball in the Mahoning Valley is a wasteland.  Can't get any help here.  Players in other parts of the country want to come to a basketball school where fans are excited about their game.  Hey, thirty years ago, but not now.  But there is a potential source of talent that we have largely ignored.  Basketball in Europe is vastly superior to what it was thirty years ago.  For our community, with over half the population tracing their roots to southern or eastern Europe, this source should have been tapped long ago. And eastern Europeans tend to be taller than say, French or Spaniards.  And those players would leap at the chance for an American college education (paid for with their basketball skills.)  And there are ethnic organizations in the Mahoning Valley with cultural ties to those ancestral homelands.  We should be networking with those folks and seeking info about potential talented teenager players in Lithuania (remember Vytas) Greece, and the remnants of Yugoslavia.  And Slocum (or at least one assistant) should fly out there once a year.  But that takes money, and we all know that administrative staffing takes priority over recruiting in all sports except football.

the downside is that getting guys from Europe can cause MAJOR NCAA violations as if you're any good in Europe you're getting paid to play, which means you are more then likley going to be ruled ineligable to play in the NCAA. No Reason to take the chance of the Basketball program getting the death penalty just to get some scrubs from europe

I am not saying yeah or nay, but a couple of legendary coaches did it for Butler ...and look where the program is today.

4997

YSU Penguin Athletics / Damian Eargle Named to CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Defensive Team

« on: April 16, 2012, 06:05:24 PM »

Boston, Mass. -- Youngstown State junior Damian Eargle has been named to the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-Defensive Team, the website recently announced.

Eargle set the Horizon League single-season blocks records for all games and league-games only. Eargle finished with 116 blocks, including 65 in Horizon League play.

He also owns the Horizon League career record for blocks in conference play at 122.

The 6-foot-7 forward led the Horizon League and ranked third in the country with 3.7 blocks per game.

Eargle recorded a block in 30 of 31 games last season, had 26 multi-block games and posted at least five blocks on 12 different occasions, including an eight-block performance against UC-Riverside on Nov. 18, 2011.

A 2012 Horizon League All-Defensive Team, selection, Eargle averaged 11.1 points per game and grabbed 7.5 rebounds per game.

4998

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Red Beats White 28-14 in 40th Annual Spring Game

« on: April 16, 2012, 04:38:59 PM »

Did anyone go to today's practice? I am wondering who was chosen to lead summer workouts?

4999

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Red Beats White 28-14 in 40th Annual Spring Game

« on: April 16, 2012, 02:11:30 PM »

I think one of the keys will be to review films of the last three games of the season. We went to an "old school" YSU defense & that is what killed NDSU ...they had no idea we still had that in us. Yet, the very next week we were burned for  70+-yard drive in less than 1-minute because of it. Remember when Heacock ran that, we had brilliant LB's & ambitious secondary. Merely having a wall up front is no good. It will be hard to bring the secondary back up to a respectable level by Fall; but I am confident we can work in two new bodies up on the defensive front & then have plans for multiple points of pass-pressure by Pitt. The D-line needs to work on technique. Lengyel and Nwadiogbu looked good in the spring game. Lengyel is the transfer from Mount ...I expect he will see lots of action, if not start, this year.

5000

YSU Penguin Athletics / Scalzo: YSU's Thomas finds role with Red Sox

« on: April 15, 2012, 09:19:34 AM »

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.com

Red Sox reliever Justin Thomas has a 5-month-old daughter and a tenuous hold on his spot in the Boston bullpen.

He’s not losing sleep over either one.

Thomas, a former Horizon League pitcher of the year at Youngstown State, signed a minor league with the Red Sox last November after spending all of 2011 with the Indianapolis Indians, the Pirates’ Triple-A team.

After going 8-2 with a 3.89 ERA in Indianapolis, Thomas and his agent looked at different major league rosters in the offseason, counted the number of left-handed relievers on each team and decided Boston was his best bet to make the majors.

“I put in a really good season last year in Triple-A but they [the Pirates] had a lot of left-handed pitchers, so there wasn’t an opportunity there,” said Thomas, speaking by phone from Boston earlier on Thursday’s off-day. “I played winter ball and, knowing the Red Sox organization, I knew I had a legitimate chance to make the team if I pitched well enough.

“In spring training, I threw the ball really well and they liked what they saw.”

Around the same time he signed with Boston, his wife, Theresa, had a daughter, Ella. They live in Dalton in the offseason, near Theresa’s family in Massillon.

“She’s awfully good,” Thomas said of Ella. “She sleeps through the night, wakes up between 5 and 7 to eat, then goes back to sleep through 8 or 9 in the morning.

“We get a lot of good sleep.”

Thomas was still on the bubble when spring training ended — he had to pack up his Florida apartment and ship everything to Boston not knowing whether he was on the team — but manager Bobby Valentine told him they were 99.9 percent sure he’d made it.

On April 4, it became official.

“It’s great to make an opening day roster because I’ve never done that before,” said Thomas, who pitched briefly in the majors with Seattle in 2008 and Pittsburgh in 2010. “I know anything can happen — there’s guys on the disabled list and they’re going to be activated sooner or later — but I’m just taking the opportunity and doing the best I can with it.

“Anytime you’re not in the major leagues, you’re trying to get there. And anytime you’re in the major leagues, you’re striving to stay. Sometimes it doesn’t work out that with [roster] numbers and different stuff that happens, but you’ve just got to keep plugging away every day.”

Thomas (6-3, 215) pitched at YSU from 2003-2005, earning first team all-conference honors his last two years while helping the Penguins make their first (and only) appearance in the College World Series in 2004.

“I had three great years there,” said Thomas, whose wife was an education major at YSU. “A lot of great memories, a lot of great games. I came in with a really good class and we pushed each other.

“Coach [Mike] Florak made sure, no matter what, we worked our butts off. When it came Friday or Saturday, we were ready to go. And I think because we worked so hard on the field, it brought us together off the field.”

Thomas was a third-round pick of the Mariners in 2005 and advanced quickly through the minors, making his major league debut on Sept. 1, 2008. He went 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in eight games with Seattle, then spent the 2009 season at Triple-A Tacoma before signing with the Pirates. He went 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 12 games with Pittsburgh in 2010, spending the rest of the season in Indianapolis.

He’s back in the bigs, in part, because the Red Sox are carrying 13 pitchers — one more than usual. He’s pitched 11/3 innings this season, giving up a run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.

“You just go to work and do what you can do,” he said. “One thing people always say in my line of work is, you just control the controllable.

“When someone gets healthy, somebody has to go to the minors, whether it’s a position player or a pitcher or a catcher, and that’s just the nature of the beast. For now, I just kind of enjoy it while I’m there and take it day by day.”

5001

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Red Beats White 28-14 in 40th Annual Spring Game

« on: April 14, 2012, 06:55:43 PM »

Why so little chatter. Nice game, nice weather, nice crowd.

5002

YSU Penguin Athletics / Red Beats White 28-14 in 40th Annual Spring Game

« on: April 14, 2012, 08:02:03 AM »

Youngstown -- Kurt Hess threw two first-half touchdowns, and fellow quarterback Patrick Angle had 158 passing yards and a touchdown as the Red Team beat the White 28-14 in the 40th Annual Red-White Spring Game on Friday evening at Stambaugh Stadium.

The Red offense and White defense were comprised of first-string players, and the Red defense and White offense were the second-stringers. The first half featured standard timing rules, and the second half had a running clock.

Hess finished 11-for-19 for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, and the junior-to-be spent the second half on the sideline. Angle was 7-for-14 for 94 yards in the first half for the White team, and he was 4-for-8 for 61 yards and a touchdown in the second half for the Red.

Angle and White quarterback Dante Nania connected with wide receiver Andrew Williams nine times for 135 yards, which was a game high. Jelani Berassa led Red with 82 yards and was one of four players to catch a touchdown pass. Carson Sharbaugh and Kevin Watts added scores through the air for the Red team, and Nate Adams had a touchdown reception for the White.

Jordan Thompson rushed for a game-high 67 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, and Jamaine Cook had 64 yards on 12 carries for the Red. Torrian Pace headlined the White rushing attack with 51 yards and a score on 12 carries.

Travis Williams had 10 tackles, including seven in the first quarter, for the White defense.

Thompson scored the game's first points on a 17-yard touchdown rush on the initial drive. On the sixth play of the drive, Hess had a 27-yard completion to Berassa down to the 18 to get the Red into the red zone. Cook then rushed for a yard on first down, and Thompson followed it with a 17-yard scamper for the score. Cook had a 10-yard rush on third-and-three earlier in the drive and had 19 yards total in the first series.

Following three defensive stops, including two by the White, Hess connected with Sharbaugh - a tight end - two plays into the second quarter for a 17-yard touchdown. A pass interference penalty put the ball on the White 20, and Hess hit Sharbaugh on a roll out pass on third-and-seven for the score.

Angle helped the White team answer by spearheading a 10-play, 70-yard drive that made the score 14-7. The sophomore quarterback completed six straight passes on the drive, including another that went for 24 yards that was called back on a holding penalty. Angle hit Andrew Williams on a 15-yard strike on third-and-11 to put the White at the Red 5, and Pace carried it the rest of the way into the end zone.

Hess executed the two-minute drill to give Red a 14-point cushion before halftime. He found Berassa for 13 yards on the first play of the drive from the Red 34, and he connected with Kintrell Disher for 12 yards on third-and-five at the White 48. He then hit Berassa deep along the right side line for a 36-yard score with 52 seconds left.

Nania showed off his arm in the third quarter to get the White team within a score. He connected with Williams on a 43-yard pass, the longest play of the game, to put the ball on the Red 35. Following a 13-yard rush by Pace and a two-yard run by John Medina, Nania hit Adams in the end zone from 20 yards out to make the score 21-14.

With the running clock, Angle put the game out of reach on the Red team's first drive of the fourth quarter. He connected with tight end Will Shaw for a 25-yard gain on third-and-19 to get the ball down to the White 22, and he found Watts for a six-yard score on the 13th play of the drive.

Shaw and the other two tight ends combined for 114 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.

Jimmy May Jr. intercepted Angle in the second quarter for the game's lone turnover. The Red team fumbled twice but recovered each. Brandon Neal and Julius Childs both had pass breakups for the White defense.

The Penguins will have a light workout on Monday to finish up the spring practice season.

5003

YSU Penguin Athletics / Spring Game Info Released

« on: April 12, 2012, 03:23:04 PM »

The 40th Annual Youngstown State football program's Red-White Spring Game is set for Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. Admission is $5 and free for YSU students. The contest will be carried live on 570 WKBN.

The Penguins will conduct the contest under normal playing rules. The game will be four regulation quarters, however the final two periods will feature a continuous clock. The clock can be stopped when deemed necessary. Punts will be allowed, but can only be fair caught. Possessions following scores will be started at the 30 or 35 yard lines.

Head Coach Eric Wolford will be in the tailgate lot visiting with fans starting at 6:15 p.m. Tailgate contest will also start at 6:15 p.m. and the judging will be held until 6:45. The winner will be presented a trophy by Coach Wolford at midfield prior to the start of the game.

Tailgate passes for the M-24 Parking Lot across the street from the Stadium are available for $15 to all Penguin fans. Fans who purchase a pass, must also buy two game tickets. The tailgating lot will open at 5 p.m. For more information, or to purchase a tailgate parking pass contact the Athletic Ticket Office at (330) 941-1978. There is no postgame tailgating. Additional parking will be available near the stadium for $5 in various university lots.

Tickets for the Red-White Spring Game are currently available at the YSU Athletic Ticket Office and can be purchased all day on Friday. All seating for the game is general admission and will be in the West stands. The East side will be closed. The gates open at 6:30 p.m.

Season Tickets will also be available for purchase before and during the game at the YSU Athletic Ticket Office.

Clear Channel Radio will air the game live on 570 WKBN beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 p.m. Bob Hannon (play-by-play), Ed Muransky (analysis), Zach Humphries (sideline) and engineer Mike Orto will bring Penguins fans all the action.

Parking will be available in all lots around the stadium. Loge holders should have their permits and will be allowed to park in the F-7 Lot. Media and gameday staff parking will be in the M-27 South lot located across Fifth Avenue from the Stadium. Marked media vehicles will be allowed to park along Stadium Drive.

As always, no umbrellas, big bags, coolers or cans are permitted in the Stadium. No fans will be allowed on the field following the game, however, weather permitting, postgame interviews will be held on the field.

40th Annual Red-White Spring Game Itinerary

5 p.m. -- Tailgate (M-24 Lot Only) and Parking Lots Open
6:15 p.m. -- Judging for Best Tailgate Food Contest Begins
6:30 p.m. -- Stambaugh Staium Gates Open
6:50 p.m. -- Entire Team Takes Field
7:30 p.m. -- Kickoff

5004

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Penguins Win Five-Team Niagara Invitational By 13 Strokes

« on: April 11, 2012, 01:47:27 PM »

This deserves some "props". Yes we are supposed to be a better team than some of this competition ...well we are. Once again, nice job by coach C & Co.

5005

YSU Penguin Athletics / Penguins Win Five-Team Niagara Invitational By 13 Strokes

« on: April 11, 2012, 01:44:57 PM »

Lewiston, N.Y. - The Youngstown State women's golf team used a solid second-round performance to win the Niagara Purple Eagles Invitational by 13 strokes. The event was held on Monday and Tuesday at the Niagara Falls Country Club.

The Penguins, which led by two shots after Monday's first round, finished with a team total of 326 on Tuesday as Robert Morris finished with a 337. For the event, YSU carded a 668 while the Colonials finished second with a 681. Niagara finished third with a 703 while Saint Francis (Pa.) was fourth with a 719.

The individual race saw three players tie for the regulation led - YSU's Aislynn Merling and Sarah Heimlich along with Saint Francis' Mallory Curtis. The three players tied with a two-round score of 163, however Curtis was victorious in a playoff. Merling had rounds of 83 and 80 while Heimlich shot 85 on Monday before improving by seven strokes on Tuesday with a 78.

Angela Molaskey finished 11th with a 175 (90-85) and Sana Khan was 15th carding a 181 (94-87).

YSU will look to keep that momentum going in its next tournament, the Horizon League Championships at Howie-In-The-Hills, Fla., later this month.

Youngstown State 342-326 -- 668
T1. Merling - 83-80 -- 163
T1. Heimlich - 85-78 -- 163
6. Mitzel - 84-83 -- 167
11. Molaskey - 90-85 -- 175
15. Khan - 94-87 -- 181

5006

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Basketball recruiting target - 6-4 G Jonathan Octeus Wabash Valley CC

« on: April 09, 2012, 01:25:59 PM »

     I do not agree that our program is down after watching this past year's performance.  We had a winning record.  We had a winning record against the Horizon League, which ranked twelfth of thirty-three Division I conferences in the county.  We beat every team in the Horizon League with the exception of Butler.  We had a Sagarin rating in the upper 48th percentile of Division I.  We played an exciting brand of running, quickness oriented ball which was admired throughout the Horizon League.  We had a teriffic guard who will be returning for two more years and a good inside man whose major fault is he is two inches too short and twenty-five pounds too light. 

     On the subtler side we may have two good recruits committed for next year.  Additionally, two players whose upside was limited elected to transfer, thereby providing unexpected recruiting opportunities. 

     Sound to me like a program moving in the right direction . . . finally.         

Thanks Chez, and great points:

Our difference from the rest of the league is part of what gave us our success last season. We were the only team in the conference that could actually put 5 shooters on the court at the same time. Factor in our ability to shoot the long ball & people had to come out and guard us. Which helped open up the inside & also forced opponents to put in one less shooter to cover. Or they left one our players opened. I like seeing this approach & that it has worked. The only time we were in trouble (outside of Butler) was when we had to put in the inexperienced 2's. I hope that will change next year.

5007

YSU Penguin Athletics / Scrimmage Video

« on: April 08, 2012, 01:47:47 PM »

Here is a video of a nice drive. I am sorry the quality is poor, but I guess I got what I paid for. This is Angle at QB, quality arm strength. Pace had couple of good runs. His toss for pay dirt was to Berassa. Nania really has the best arm, but accuracy could be an issue. I am going to build a video this week for everyone to see.

5008

YSU Penguin Athletics / Re: Vargo: Throwing star

« on: April 06, 2012, 10:17:03 PM »

Not only that Pizza, but until just recently ...they were all volunteers. The volunteers are the unsung heroes of so many sports here at YSU. Football, basketball, swimming. Heck, look at coach Antush in baseball. He worked with how many great YSU pitchers so far? He got us our first money games. Heck he worked his way into the head job at Marshall ..and they had a great program a one time. I mean we have never had a great deal of money, that is why I love it when the players come back to help because they (and the other volunteers are here because they love it.

5009

YSU Penguin Athletics / Vargo: Throwing star

« on: April 06, 2012, 04:17:06 PM »

By JOHN VARGO - Sports reporter (jvargo@tribtoday.com) , Tribune Chronicle


MINERAL RIDGE - Jacob Chiclowe thrives off adrenaline.

"Chic, you're up," a call goes out from the official scorekeeper around the shot put pit.

The 5-foot-10, 250-pound senior, who will compete at Youngstown State University next season, paces back and forth before stepping into the throwing circle.

"It's all mental," Chiclowe said. "I like to get pumped up before the throw. It's better than standing around, being tight."

The white, powdery chalk covers his neck - thoroughly smacked on prior to his throw.

"It helps me get going in the shot put, the grip of it, the chalk," Chiclowe said. "That's one of the main things I use it for. It's a way to get pumped up, just slapping it on yourself. That's what does it for me."

Chiclowe's teammates begin a slow clap that rapidly increases as he takes to the circle.

It's all part his routine each and every throw - a routine that started prior to outdoor season.

Chiclowe was throwing indoor - eventually ending up at the indoor state meet in Akron.

"Helped me be quicker through the ring," Chiclowe said. "The ring is a little slicker, so I'm a lot more confident in the ring."

Last week, he broke the school record twice - eventually ending up with a throw of 56-5 1/4 at Saturday's Joe Lane Invitational.

"Outdoors, I've been throwing a little more so that's what's been producing the big throws," Chiclowe said.

According to oh.milesplit.com, Chiclowe's throw is ranked third in the state.

Springfield Local's Stephen Lyons, who finished second in the state in Division III last year, is Chiclowe's biggest rival. Lyons threw 57-11 in indoors.

"The competition me and him have is a great thing," Chiclowe said.

He's staying with a regimented preparation routine as well.

"We expected big things out of him at the beginning," Mineral Ridge throws coach Andrew Apisa said. "He's still lifting heavy. He's still doing a lot of heavy throwing. For him to throw two school records in the first week is an amazing thing.

"We're torn his body down. He's still lifting heavy."

Chiclowe is the overall Division IV, V, VI state high school powerlifting champion in the 250-pound weight class. He squatted 575 pounds, benched 345 and deadlifted 505 on March 10 at Kenton High School.

However, practicing was a premium during the winter for Chiclowe and the rest of the Mineral Ridge throwers. Chiclowe's father, Robert, took two 4-by-8-foot boards, 3/4-inch thick OSBs (oriented strand board) and cut a hole into it to simulate an outdoor throwing ring. Then, there was a footboard curved around the front and bolted in. And, to make it portable, Robert put two hinges on the sides so it would fold up.

Mats were put under the portable ring and spread throughout the Mineral Ridge gym.

"Just this past year, he got really serious," Robert said of Jacob. "They really didn't have anywhere to throw. Mr. Apisa said, 'It would be nice if we could get one.' And, I said, 'I'll build one.' So I did a little research and I said, 'I can build one of these relatively inexpensive and you guys go for it.'

"These guys were getting up at 6 a.m., showing up at the gym and using it - working out. They're very dedicated."

And, Jacob is motivated as well.

"He's an intense kid," Apisa said. "Him and Ryan Booth, whether they're here in the weight room, out here practicing down on the track, those two thrive off excitement. They go on YouTube and watch (American Olympian) Adam Nelson, the watch them and that's what gets them up and gets them excited."

5010

YSU Penguin Athletics / Scalzo: Fickiesen to leave Women's hoops team

« on: April 06, 2012, 06:36:51 AM »

By Joe Scalzo

scalzo@vindy.ocm

Youngstown

Youngstown State freshman point guard Kelsea Fickiesen has decided to leave the program.

Fickiesen, a West Virginia native who started 15 of 30 games this season, averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 assists per game for the Penguins (10-20).

In a statement released by the university, Fickiesen said the decision was due to her desire to return home and begin work on her pharmacy degree.

“Next year I am planning on attending West Virginia University at Parkersburg to finish prerequisites for WVU and the University of Charleston pharmacy schools,” she said in the statement. “After next year, I will hopefully be accepted into one of the two programs. It was a hard decision to make, but ultimately it came down to what made me happy and focusing on getting the best grades possible. I had a great experience here that I don’t regret. I’m proud of what we accomplished and proud I was a part of it.”

Fickiesen’s departure is a blow to YSU, which is already losing senior guard Macey Nortey to graduation. The Penguins are also losing senior guards Tieara Jones and Kenya Middlebrooks.

That leaves seven players left from this year’s roster, including guard Ashley Lawson, who took a medical redshirt this season. Coach Bob Boldon also signed four players during the early signing period in November.