Sports digest

YSU

Spring luncheon slated Tuesday

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State Sports Information Office is now taking reservations for the annual Bob Dove Spring Game Luncheon which is being held Tuesday at the DeBartolo Stadium Club in Stambaugh Stadium.

The luncheon is scheduled to begin at noon with various seniors and Coach Jon Heacock available for interviews with the local media.

The cost of the luncheon is $5 for Penguin Club members and $7 for non-members. Please contact the athletic administration office or sports information office at (330) 941-1910 or (330) 941-3192 by 2 p.m. on Monday, April 20, to make your reservations.

Kickoff for the Red-White Spring Game on Friday, April 23, is slated for 7:30 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium. Admission is $5. It will be carried live on 570 WKBN.

Penguins add assistant trainer

YOUNGSTOWN — Erica Chung has been hired as an assistant athletic trainer at Youngstown State, head athletic trainer John Doneyko announced this week.

Chung previously worked as an assistant athletic trainer at Kennesaw State University as athletic trainer for the women’s basketball and baseball programs. She served as a graduate intern athletic trainer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she received a master’s degree in kinesiology in 2006

She earned her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago where she was a student athletic trainer for women’s tennis, cross country and track & field.

Her other athletic training experience includes the University of North Dakota, Loyola University Chicago and Cirque du Soleil KA in Las Vegas.

Meet Penguins golf event set

YOUNGSTOWN — The Youngstown State women’s golf program is holding a first “Meet The Penguins” event on May 2 at The Lakes at Firestone in Columbiana. The cost of the nine-hole scramble is $60 per golfer or $50 to purchase an advertisement in the program. Golf and a program advertisement are both available for $100.

YSU Women’s Golf Coach Roseann Schwartz is holding the event for members of the community to meet her hard-working, highly-competitive squad. To participate call Schwartz at (330) 692-3692.

AREA

Thomas advances in Golden Gloves

CLEVELAND — Youngstown’s Julius Thomas Jr. (3-0) of the Burnside Boxing Club beat Chaz Roberson (7-1) of Cleveland’s Kings Gym in a unanimous 141-pound novice devision decision at the Cleveland Golden Gloves tournament.

Thomas will fight Von Hunter from Cleveland’s CMHA Lonnie Burton Gym in the novice division championship at Cleveland Browns Stadium at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Thomas is trained by Keith Burnside and Mike Polo.

Track marks fall

EAST PALESTINE — Jackson-Milton senior Samantha Hamilton set a new stadium record in the 800-meter run and Columbiana’s girls 4x800 relay and United’s boys 4x100 relay also broke stadium marks in Tuesday’s quadrangular meet at East Palestine’s Ward Athletic Complex.

Columbiana’s time of 10:27.0 broke the old mark of 10:34.9 set by Streetsboro in 2003.

Hamilton’s time of 2:24.5 bested the 2:28.6 by Waterloo’s Brittnee Miller in 2004.

United ran its relay in 44.8, breaking East Palestine’s record of 45.0 in 2008.

NATION

Wolfpack selects Yow’s replacement

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina State has chosen Western Carolina’s Kellie Harper to replace Hall of Famer Kay Yow as the Wolfpack’s women’s basketball coach, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The search committee will forward Harper’s name to the university’s board of trustees for approval at its meeting later this week. The person spoke on condition on anonymity because an official announcement had not yet been made, though the school has scheduled a news conference for Thursday afternoon to announce the hiring of a new coach.

Derby hopeful heads to Kentucky

ARCADIA, Calif. — Santa Anita Derby winner Pioneerof the Nile has completed his final workout in California before heading to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.

Under exercise rider Joe Steiner, the colt ran four furlongs on Santa Anita’s synthetic surface in 46.20 seconds, fastest of 30 drills at the distance.

Trainer Bob Baffert said the colt did it “pretty damn easy” and that it was probably the best Pioneerof the Nile had ever worked.

Vindicator staff/wire