By Kyle Wills
The Youngstown State University track & field teams had a historic showing at the Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 26-27 held at Watson and Tressel Training Site.
Day One of the championships was highlighted by graduate student Anthony Woods who ran the men’s 60 meter in a Horizon League Championship record time of 6.63 seconds.
For the women, junior Jessica Stever took the women’s long jump event title with a YSU record of 5.94 meters. Clocking a time of 8.39 seconds, senior Madison Murry set a YSU record during preliminary heats of the women’s 60-meter hurdles competition to take the top qualifying time into Sunday’s event final. Junior Morgan Cole stood atop this year’s podium in the women’s 5000-meter run after clocking the second-fastest time in school history with 17:01.13 to take the event title.
Both the men and the women paced the competition during the day as the men finished with 81 points while the women had 68.
On Day Two, the men claimed their seventh straight league title with 211 points while the women closed out the championship weekend setting a Horizon League record for most points scored across a championship meet.
Senior Nicole Squatrito set a new YSU school record in the women’s 800-meter run to pick up just the second 800-meter conference title in program history with a time of 2:11.11. She earned just the second Penguin league title in the women’s mile with a personal-best time of 4:55.89. Cole tallied her second league title in as many days with a victory in Sunday’s 3000-meter run with a time of 9:51.81
Becoming the only Horizon League to ever accomplish the feat, regardless of event, senior Sean Peterson clinched a Horizon League record fifth-straight 800-meter league title with a time of 1:52.81. Anthony Woods helped the Penguins garner a ninth league title in the last 11 indoor seasons with a first-place finish in Sunday’s 60-meter dash final, clocking a time of 6.78 seconds. Junior Jakari Lomax notched back-to-back conference championships in the men’s triple jump, jumping 15.14 meters.
