Penguins Have Solid Performances at the YSU Icebreaker

by YSU

Sunday, Dec 8, 2013 11:57 am

The Youngstown State Track and Field teams started their 2013-2014 indoor season this Friday afternoon hosting the YSU Icebreaker at the WATTS.  Many newcomers had strong debuts for the program at the event.

Freshman Chenera Lacey started her college campaign off strong by winning the women's high jump with a jump of 1.71 meters tying the WATTS record. Mackenzie Sturtz and Leanna Hartsough both jumped 1.60 meters tying for eighth place. For the women's shot put, sophomore Jennifer Neider took the first place spot with a throw of 13.82m and Jayne Corbett was another freshman who took the advantage to start her college career off strong to finish with a third place finish with a throw of 13.02m.

Freshman Nicole Waibel placed fifth (3.35m) in the pole vault in her YSU debut while junior Megan Monte also finished fifth in the one mile with a time of 5:42. In the 400 meter run YSU had two top five finishers with sophomore Jen Shiley winning it with a time of 57.95 and senior Alteeka Vanwright finishing in fourth place at a time of 59.10.

Alexis Cooper finished second (2:20.54) in the 800 meter run missing first place by .34 seconds and in the 60 meter hurdles Lacey finished third (9.06) and right behind her was freshman Sage Spotleson with a fourth place finish (9.14) and freshman Megan Gunther who placed sixth with a time of 9.17.

In the 60 meter dash senior Alexis Washington finished second at a time of 7.81 and Sage Spotleson managed to finish sixth (8.13). Ashley Smith placed fifth in the 1000m run (3.27) as Alexis Washington added another second place in the 200m dash (25.60) along with senior Alteeka Vanwright finishing fifth with a time of 26.24.

Senior Samantha Hamilton and freshman McKinsie Klim convert their A game performances from the cross country season over to track and field as they finish in the top five in the 3000m run, Hamilton finished second (9:41) and Klim finished fourth (10:41). YSU's 4x400m team consisting of Jen Shiley, Vanwright, Alexis Washington and Alexis Cooper finished second with a time of 4:02.

For the men sophomore Jay Jakovina finished strong in the high jump finishing first with a jump of 2.04m while sophomore Connor Neu had a throw of 18.97 meters in the weight throw to take control and finish in first place as well. Fellow senior Bobby Grace also took first place in the shot put with a toss of 18.22m along with sophomore Jacob Chiclowe and junior Eric Vendemia placing in the top six in the shot put with Chiclowe finishing fourth (15.22m) and Vandemia placing sixth with a throw of 14.73m.

Freshman William Royal was a part of the top freshman finishers for YSU placing third in the triple jump (13.72m) and in the long jump with a jump of 6.83m along with sophomore Jay Jakovina who finished seventh in the long jump jumping 6.59m.

Senior Clay Febus had a solid performance in the 60 meter hurdles finishing first (8.24) and freshman Marcellus Embry and Dayln Gattison finished back to back in the 60m dash with Embry finishing sixth (7.07) and Gattison finishing seventh (7.09). Freshman Robin Hall placed second in the 400m dash missing first by less than a second with a time of 49.26 and John Helms not far behind placed eighth at 50.81. Embry and Gattison finished back to back again but in the 200m dash as Embry placed fifth (22.48) and Gattison finished sixth (22.59)

Senior Eric Rupe, who is coming off a great 2013 cross country season, keeps adding wins to his resume with a first-place finish in the 1,000m run with a time of 2:33 and sophomore John Hutnyan finished in third place (2:41). In the 3000m run junior Austin McLean kept with the pack the whole time until the last lap where he took the lead and finished in first place at a time of 8:51. Along with the women the men's 4x400 relay team also finished in second place with a time of 3:28, the team involved John Helms, Clay Febus, Marcellus Embry, and Robin Hall.

The YSU women and men's team will next face off in the YSU Invitational where they will host again at the WATTS on Jan. 24.

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