By Marissa Masano / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University track and field teams reclaimed the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championship on March 1-2 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
The men’s team secured its 10th consecutive and 11th overall Horizon League indoor title, compiling 227.5 points over two days — the third-highest total in program history. The Penguins outscored runner-up, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, by 99.5 points.
Head Coach Brian Gorby was named Horizon League Coach of the Year for the 10th straight year and the 12th time overall.
The women’s team claimed its 13th championship, finishing with 152 points. Tournament host Purdue University Fort Wayne placed second with 135 points.
The men won five individual events. Fifth-year senior Hunter Christopher became the first three-time winner of the men’s 5000-meter race in league history, clocking a time of 14:26.77.
Graduate student Ryan Meadows secured his second straight title in the men’s 3000-meter race with a time of 8:28.37, marking YSU’s fourth win in the last five years of the event.
A day after being named Horizon League Track and Field Indoor Alfreeda Goff Athlete of the Year, senior Luke Laubacher won his first title in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.56 meters.
On Day Two, Laubacher finished first in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, as he won his third straight title with a time of 7.84 seconds. He became the second Penguin in program history to win three-consecutive titles in the 60-meter hurdles.
Following the meet, Laubacher was named Horizon League Men’s Championship Outstanding Performer for field events.
Sophomore Lukas Lang won his first Horizon League title in the men’s pole vault, clearing his personal best of 5.10 meters. His victory extended YSU’s streak of conference titles in the event to eight-straight.
Freshman Brandon Hutchinson was named Outstanding Men’s Field Performer alongside Laubacher. Hutchinson finished as the runner-up in the men’s heptathlon with 4,594 points, the fifth most in school history. He won the heptathlon’s 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles with times of 7.10 and 8.31 seconds, respectively.
The women’s team won four individual titles. The Penguins earned 25 points in the pole vault and 21 points in the long jump, en route to the championship victory.
Fifth-year senior Esther Solarin claimed titles in both the long jump and triple jump. She won her first indoor long-jump title with a mark of 5.98 meters, then capped her indoor career with a triple jump victory of 12.84 meters on her third attempt.
Solarin became the first athlete to win both the long jump and triple jump at the same Horizon League meet since 2020. She is also the first Penguin to sweep the jump events since 2005.
At the conclusion of the meet, Solarin was named Women’s Championship Outstanding Performer for field events.
Junior Melana Schumaker cleared 3.81, 3.91 and 4.01 meters on her first attempts to win her second-consecutive Horizon League title in the women’s pole vault. She became the first Penguin to win back-to-back titles and multiple championships in the event.
Sophomore McKinley Fielding won her first Horizon League title in the women’s 5000-meter race, taking the lead in the final 150 meters and finishing in 17:06.82 to win by nearly five seconds.
Fielding became the third Penguin to win the women’s 5000-meter race, joining former Penguins Morgan Cole and Samantha Hamilton.
With the conclusion of the championships, Youngstown State will open the 2025 outdoor track and field season March 21-22 at the Marty Pushkin Invitational in Morgantown, West Virginia.
