Horizon indoor meet starts today in Kent

YOUNGSTOWN — Youngstown State will attempt to sweep the men’s and women’s conference titles for the first time since 1997 when it hosts the Horizon League indoor track and field championships beginning today at the Kent State Fieldhouse.

The women’s squad will be looking to win its fifth conference title since 2004 while the men will try to capture its first since the 2003 indoor season.

Both squads certainly have the pedigree to make a title run with 13 upperclassmen on the women’s squad and 12 on the men’s squad. This year’s rosters are deeper and more well-rounded than previous years, which means both teams have a good shot to take home the first-place trophy.

"Our team depth is one of the main keys to our success," head coach Brian Gorby said. "That will really help us with it being a two-day meet. Our group is going to be extremely strong. We have that Youngstown mentality that we're a tough group."

"We've also got some really quality people in some events and a great group of seniors. Our kids embrace the opportunity to compete for a championship and keep our tradition going."

There is also a definite local flavor on this year’s track and field team with 15 members of the women’s team and 17 members of the men’s team hailing from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.

The women’s squad also has the benefit of seven former conference champions on its roster. Senior thrower Bethany Anderson is a 10-time conference champion, Yandeh Joh has won five titles and Katie Betts (Lakeview) and Kari Kreutzfeld have won three apiece. Darcelle Formby, Jennifer Roman and Alisha Anthony have also been conference champions once. At the 2007 indoor league meet, Anderson won the shot put and weight throw, Anthony won the long jump, Joh won the 60-meter hurdles and Kreutzfeld won the 400-meter dash.

The men’s squad has two members who have won individual conference crowns during the outdoor season, but no current Penguin has been to the top of the podium during the indoor circuit. Both individual wins came in 2006 with Martin Vieth winning the high jump and Aaron Merrill (Leetonia, Ohio) winning the shot put as freshmen.

The heptathlon and pentathlon start at 9 a.m. both days, but the bulk of the events begin in the afternoon. Today, field events start at 3:30 p.m. and preliminary running events begin at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, field events start at noon and finals of the running events start at 1 p.m.