Penguins Look to Defend Outdoor League Crown in Michigan

by YSU

Saturday, May 4, 2013 8:19 am

The Youngstown State women's track and field team will look to defend its Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field crown while the men will be looking to improve on last year's second-place finish at the Championships starting on Friday at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Mich.

The Penguins won the 2012 Championship in Wisconsin and now the event will be held in Michigan for the first time. The men are coming off a second-place finish last year.

The women had an impressive final day to come from behind and earn the crown with 172 points. The men scored 108 points placing second to Milwaukee. The Penguins and Panthers were the only two men's teams to eclipse more than 100 points last year.

Returning champions from last year's squad who competing this year include Ciara Jarrett (100-meter dash and 200-meter dash) and Allison Roth (discus and shot put). Jarrett is a two-time defending champion in the 100m. There has never been a runner in Horizon League history win three straight 100-meter dash titles.

Her biggest challenge will come from teammate, redshirt freshman Nina Grambling. Grambling and Jarrett have battled all spring in both the 100m and 200m events.

Grambling ranks first in the Horizon League in the 100m at 11.69 seconds, Loyola's Brianna Walker is second at 11.83 while Jarrett is right behind at 11.84 seconds.

In the 200-meter dash, Jarrett leads the way at 23.78 seconds, Grambling is second at 24.25 and Loyola's Walker sits third with a time of 24.54 seconds.

Key runners on the women's side include Laura Kosiorek who is second in the 100 hurdles, Nicole Pachol who is second in the 400m hurdles, Kendall Homan who ranks third in the 100 hurdles behind Kosiorek and UWM's Shelby Schaal, Katie Heney is fourth in the 10,000-meter run, Brittany Stockmaster is fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Alteeka Vanwright is fifth in the 400m dash.

In the field events, Roth ranks first in the shot put second in the discus, Homan is second in the javelin, freshman Jennifer Neider is second in the shot put, freshman Ashley Wagner leads the conference in the hugh jump at 1.65m, Hannah Ropp is third in the pole vault and Grambling sits third in the long jump while Jarrett is seventh.

The men's first-ever title quest will be led by John Seaver, Michael Davis, Tarelle Irwin, Nick Gliha, Eric Vendemia, Jay Jakovina and others.

Michael Davis has the league's top mark in the 200-meter dash (21.44 seconds) and is ahead of teammate Tarelle Irwin and Milwaukee's Washington Farrington (21.70).

In the 100m dash, Davis ranks third with a time of 10.63 seconds while Loyola's Chris Strup is first (10.53) and UIC's Anthony Hollingstworth (10.56 seconds). Irwin sits seventh in the event.

Additionally, Gliha is third in the 10,000-meter run.

YSU should be able to gain some points in the field events. Jakovina is currently second in the league in the high jump, Kevin McCulloh is third in the javelin and Dorian Davis sits fifth in triple jump and long jump.

Once again, YSU's throwers are solid. Bobby Grace, who won the hammer, shot and discus last year is redshirting this season. In his place, Vandemia owns the top mark in discus at 46.69 meters while Seaver has the top mark in the shot put at 17.74 meters. Vendemia is second in the shot while Jacob Chiclowe is third. George Thomas ranks fourth in the league hammer throw.

Both the men's and women's squad have the top times in the 4x100-meter relays. The men own a best time of 41.44 seconds while the women sit at 45.85 seconds. Loyola has the conference's best time in the 4x400 for both the men and women.

In February, the Ramblers won its first Horizon League indoor men's and women's championships by dominating in the middle distance and long distance events. The Penguins will have to have success in the field events and sprints to keep pace with the Ramblers and Milwaukee. This is Loyola's final Horizon League meet before moving onto the Missouri Valley Conference next year.

A single-day pass is $8 while a two-day pass is $12. Horizon League students are free.

The event starts on Friday with the hammer throw, decathlon and heptathlon and 10,000-meter run. On Saturday, 10 finals in field events, the two multi events and the steeplechase will be held. On Sunday, eight individual running events, two relays and two field events are on tap.

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