COLLEGE YSU sends four to compete at Midwest regional at OSU

Kurt Michaelis and Delores Gaines are set to compete.
YOUNGSTOWN -- The Youngstown State men's and women's track and field teams will have four athletes compete at the 2003 NCAA Mideast Regional at Ohio State, beginning today at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Representing YSU will be Kurt Michaelis, Eugene Harris, Delores Gaines and Beth Hochstetler.
Michaelis will compete the 800 meters, the 1,500 and the steeplechase.
Harris will run in the 100 and 200, Gaines is competing in the shot put and Hochstetler will be throwing the discus.
Michaelis was named to the Verzion Academic second team track and field/cross country All-District IV team.
Michaelis, YSU's 2002-03 Male Athlete of the Year, finished as an All-American at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, was named the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year and won the mile championship at the League indoor track and field championships while leading YSU to its first league title in school history.
He has set school records in the 3,000 steeplechase (outdoor), mile run (indoor) and 1,000 (indoor).
YSU soccer
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State coach Elizabeth Bartley signed two West Branch High players to national letters of intent.
Mikey McCracken is a four-year letter winner and two-time captain, while Shannon Martig is a three-year letterman and an All-Ohio selection and ranks in the top 10 percent of her graduating class.
Westminster
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Kevin Culp (Canfield), a senior first baseman, has been named to the Verizon Academic All-America College Division baseball first team.
Culp, who batted .362 (29-for-80) this season and posted a 3.889 cumulative grade-point average as a mathematics major, was one of 11 players named to the first team announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He was picked as an infielder.
Culp also scored 25 runs and drove in 16 more, with six homers and six doubles. He compiled a 4-3 record with a 3.40 earned run average, 53 strikeouts and 27 walks in 53 innings.
He won the Westminster Scholar-Athlete Award and was voted the Team MVP by his teammates.
He also made the All-Presidents' Athletic Conference second team.
Rachael Cooper (New Castle Laurel) will play volleyball at Westminster. The daughter of Judy and Dan Cooper, Rachael will major in biology and secondary education.
Cooper served as Laurel's team captain while posting 259 kills, 222 digs, 41 blocks, 54 assists and a 92 per cent serving percentage. She made the All-Section first team and All-WPIAL fourth team.
Cooper also was a track and basketball standout for Laurel, and placed fourth in the WPIAL triple jump.
Hiram
HIRAM -- Joe Marzano (Cardinal Mooney), a junior outfielder, has been named to the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Mideast Region second team.
Marzano set two Hiram season records this year with 11 home runs and 33 RBIs, while hitting .402 (41-for-102) with 32 runs scored and nine doubles.
He also led the North Coast Athletic Conference in slugging percentage (.833), and ranked in the top five in batting average, home runs and total bases.
Marzano was named to the All-NCAC first team.
Geneva
BEAVER FALLS, Pa. -- Sarah Fowler (United) signed a letter of intent to play soccer at Geneva. Because United did not have a girls team, Fowler was a standout on the boys team.
Marietta
MARIETTA -- Matt DeSalvo (New Castle Union) has signed a contract with the New York Yankees.
DeSalvo, the 39th Marietta player under coach Don Schaly to turn professional, will train for a few weeks in Florida before joining the Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Penn League, New York's Class A affiliate.
DeSalvo broke two NCAA all-division records this season with 603 strikeouts and 53 wins.
He was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Kent Tekulve Pitcher of the Year for the third time, as well as All-OAC first team.
He capped his career at Marietta with a 53-6 record and 1.80 ERA over 395 2/3 innings.
Clarion
CLARION, Pa. -- Jeff Donston (New Castle) was a junior member of the Clarion baseball team. A second baseman, Donston played in 38 games, starting 34 of them, and batted .227 (20-for-88) with 11 RBIs. Clarion posted a 17-31 record, including 7-13 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-West.
Malone
CANTON -- Chad Ceremuga (Hickory) and Seth Sharp (West Branch) will play football at Malone College. Sharp also will perform with the track and field team.
Ceremuga is a kicker who lettered twice in football, three times in soccer and once in wrestling.
Sharp is a 260-pound defensive end and has been selected to play in the Penn-Ohio All-Star Game.
Tiffany French (Bristol), a junior on the Malone women's track and field team, broke her own school record in the shot put at the NAIA National Outdoor National Championships recently in Olathe, Kan. French threw 44 feet to place ninth.
Wooster
WOOSTER -- Freshman Greg Cook (Girard) averaged 81.8 in four tournaments. Cook's 81.8 average ranked seventh-best on the team, and included three low rounds of 77.
His best score was 77-77--154 at the Mount Union Invitational held last fall. His top placement was a tie for 12th place at the Parlor Restaurant/Woster Invitational April 18-19 with 80-77--157.
Cook is the son of Jean and Roderick Cook of Girard. Greg's sister, Abby Cook, formerly played basketball for the Wooster women's team.
Bluffton
BLUFFTON -- Freshman Floyd Ward (Woodrow Wilson) achieved two personal-best times this season.
Ward, an education major, ran the 400- and 800-meter dashes in career-best times of 54.94 seconds and 2:02.94, respectively, and had one top-three performance.
The son of Sheila and Jeffrey Davis, Ward holds Bluffton's indoor distance medley relay record.
While at Woodrow Wilson, Ward was an All-City linebacker for the football team and a two-time boxing champion.