WOMEN'S TRACK Penguins win league crown

YSU has won four straight Horizon League titles.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Emily Schnitkey won two events and Bethany Anderson was named outstanding field newcomer, leading the Youngstown State women's track and field team to its fourth straight Horizon League Championship Friday.
Schnitkey won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with at time of 11 minutes, 1.20 seconds and the 5,000 in 17:13.50 while Anderson set two school records and won the shot put with a mark of 46 feet, 31/2 inches.
Head Coach Brian Gorby accepted the women's coach of the year award on behalf of the entire staff, earning his 13th coaching award in 12 years at YSU.
But this championship took something extra from the team. After winning the indoor title by 62 points, the team began the campaign expecting to win. It didn't expect injuries to its top sprinters and bad weather all season, which included a three-hour rain delay Friday.
"We had to overcome tons of adversity all year -- probably the most we've ever had to overcome as a team," Gorby said.
"With meets being rained out and injuries, every girl had to step up and they did that."
In striking distance
The Penguins began Friday in third place, 23 points behind Detroit, but felt they were well within striking distance because of fast preliminary times in the sprints. But after the Titans and Wisconsin-Milwaukee came out strong on the second day, Gorby said it looked like the Penguins were going to fall short before Marielle Glanz and Schnitkey got the momentum going.
Glanz, who came into the meet ranked 10th in the 800, came up with a clutch fourth-place time of 2:16.60 that started to turn the meet in YSU's favor. Schnitkey then stepped up with her win in the 5,000.
YSU finished with 180 points while Detroit finished second with 151 and Milwaukee was third with 150.
Aaliyah Gillespie qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional and broke the YSU and Horizon League records in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.88, while Satara Freeman finished second (14.54). Gillespie added a second-place finish in the 100 (12.15) while Jeanna Cunningham and Danielle Bolt finished third and fourth in the event.
Cunningham was also second in the 200 (24.81) while Bolt placed third and Emily Wollet was fifth. Wollet, a freshman, also finished second in the 400 (57.33) and Leslie Johnson placed third.
Record-setter
Carly Youlton broke two school records in the jumps, placing second in the triple jump (38-6) and third in the long jump (18-6). Yandeh Joh was fourth in the long jump (18-4) while Laura Schatz ended her career with a second-place distance of 5-31/4.
Anderson placed third in the hammer with a school-record mark of 171-101/2, while Katy Williams finished second in the discus (139-10 1/4). Amy Hill and Lindsay Cobey finished third and fourth in the discus while Hill was fifth in the hammer. Schatz finished fifth in the javelin (112-6).
Dating back to the 2002-03 season, Youngstown State has claimed five Horizon League championships. The men's team claimed the indoor title in 2003, and the women began their streak of four straight championships during the 2004 indoor season.