CROSS COUNTRY YSU is host for meet for first time

The Horizon League championships will be Saturday at Avalon South.
HOWLAND -- Youngstown State University will host its first Horizon League championship cross country meet Saturday at Avalon South golf course.
Seven men's teams are entered in the eight-kilometer race, which starts at 11 a.m.
Butler, ranked 33rd in the nation, will seek its sixth consecutive title.
Four all-league runners return from the 2002 meet, two from Loyola and two from Butler.
Youngstown State has four seniors looking to cap off their careers by winning the program's first cross country since 1996, and extend the Penguins streak of finishing in the top three in a conference to 11 years.
YSU squad is deep
The men's squad is deep, having a different scoring five in every meet, and will need to place in a pack to contend.
Tony Orcena paced YSU last years as he placed 17th at the 2002 Horizon League and will entered the meet with the lowest entry time 25 minutes, 48 seconds.
Paul Robinette finished 15th a year ago, while Kurt Michaelis, YSU's first Division I All-American, was 19th and Nick Buzek 21st.
Returning for Butler is Gary Blackman and Lennon Wicks, who finished eighth and 13th, respectively, and back for Loyola will be Robert Wade and Sean Conroy who placed second and 10th.
Butler women in defense
Butler returns to defend its women's crown against seven other schools in the five-kilometer race that is scheduled to start at noon.
The run will feature seven returning all-league runners including Butler's Becky Lyne and Laren Brentano who placed seventh and night respectively last year, while UIC's Jenni Goebel finished fourth.
YSU freshman Lisa Davies, a two-time Horizon League Athlete of the Week, is coming off a record-setting performance (21:46.90) at the Penn State National cross country race, Oct. 18. Freshmen Jenn Wenhold, a McDonald High graduate, Kim Jendre and Marielle Glanz have scored points for the Penguins in every meet they have competed in.
Junior Lindsay Wojciak of YSU finished 28th in the conference last season and has improved her time by 30 seconds.