By Dylan Lux / The Jambar
Following multiple record-breaking races and an award-filled season, the Youngstown State University men’s and women’s cross country teams prepare for the Horizon League Championships, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
The 2024 campaign began Aug. 30 with a trip to Akron for the 55th Annual Tommy Evans Invitational, hosted by the University of Akron. The men’s side finished fourth out of 11 teams, as The Ohio State University won the meet with every racer finishing top 10.
At the same meet, the women’s team finished sixth out of 12 teams. Sophomore McKinley Fielding finished sixth overall out of 116 runners with a time of 18:08.8 in the 5K.
The next meet was Sept. 20 at the Roy Griak Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota, as 10 members of the men’s team traveled to Falcon Heights, Minnesota.
The Penguins finished seventh out of 17 teams, with senior Hunter Christopher coming in third overall, with an 8K time of 25:05.4. Senior Thomas Caputo and sophomore Owen Brady finished 31st and 35th, respectively.
Then Sept. 21, Youngstown State hosted the YSU Inaugural Alumni Cross Country Meet. The event marked the first-ever on the brand new Gorby Family Championship Cross Country Course in Canfield.
The women’s team finished first overall, as three Penguins placed in the top five. Fielding, freshman Caleigh Richards and junior Jenna Razavi finished second, third and fifth in the race, respectively.
On the men’s side, YSU finished in fifth place — with only five runners. Three ’Guins finished inside the top 20.
Following the home meet, the Penguins met Atlantic Coast Conference foe, the University of Notre Dame, at their Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational.
The women finished 12th out of 23 teams, while the men finished 18th out of 19.
Brady said the team’s training switched this season, with practices geared more towards the races at the end of the season.
“We’ve definitely changed our training a little bit in the summer to peak for the later races,” Brady said. “Starting out was a little slower but it was good for where we were.”
The most recent meet for the ’Guins was Oct. 18, when the team traveled to College Station, Texas for the Texas A&M University Arturo Barrios Invitational.
The Youngstown State men’s team finished in fifth place out of 38 teams at the invitational, as Christopher finished 18th out of nearly 400 runners.
The women’s team finished 30th out of 41 teams, with the highest Penguin finisher being Fielding in 66th, in front of over 300 athletes.
The ’Guins will now prepare for the postseason Nov. 2, as the Horizon League Championships will take place in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Brady said the preparation didn’t change for the postseason, but the stakes have only gotten higher.
“[There’s] a little more pressure, it means more,” Brady said. “We’re more focused now and we have more tools to work with by the end of the year, so we should be at our best.”
The women’s 6K is slated to begin at noon, while the men’s race will start at 1 p.m.
