By John Ostapowicz
The Youngstown State University men’s and women’s track & field teams combined to win nine events, break meet records and set personal bests.
For the teams, Jan. 20 was a busy day at the Watts and Tressel Training Site. There were more than 1,800 athletes and 24 universities present at the YSU Collegiate Invitational presented by Southwoods Health.
To start the afternoon, four of the top six spots in the men’s long jump were awarded to the Penguins.
For the men, junior Tye Hunt set a new meet record with a leap of 7.57-meters to earn the event title, while senior Jakari Lomax had a personal-best leap of 7.40-meters.
In the women’s shot put, junior Lauren Sheehan won the event with a 14.05-meter throw, while senior Zach Gray won the event for the men with a personal-best throw of 17.29-meters, his previous best throw was 16.7.
In the men’s pole vault, junior Dorian Chaigneau tied for first, as the Penguins had two athletes place in the top three of the event. The top three finishers all cleared the bar at 5.23-meters, but Chaigneau cleared the bar on his second attempt.
Senior Erin Bogard led the way for the women, clearing the bar at 4.00-meters to claim the event win.
The Penguins also swept wins in the 60-meter hurdles, with junior Madison Murry securing a first place finish for the women with a time of 8.57 seconds. Sophomore Luke Laubacher won the event for the men with a time of 8.07 seconds.
In the triple jump, junior Nia Williams-Matthews secured the victory with a leap of 12.33-meter. For the men, junior Lonnie Harper took home the title in the high jump with a meet-best performance, 2.02-meter.
With the event win, Mattews was named Nike Horizon League Track and Field Athlete Of The Week on Jan. 24.
The men and women’s track & field team will be back in action at the YSU College Mid Major presented by Southwoods Health on Jan. 27.