YSU men finish respectable 4th at meet

By Joe Scalzo | February 28, 2011 at 12:03a.m.

GENEVA

Sunday’s meet had been over for more than 20 minutes but Mike Davis was still steamed.

The Youngstown State sophomore had finished second in two events and helped the Penguins place fifth in the 4x400-meter relay as the men’s team finished a respectable fourth in the team standings at this weekend’s Horizon League championships at the GaREAT Sports Complex.

Normally, that would be a pretty good meet. But Davis felt he’d been robbed of a victory in the 60-meter dash, where Detroit junior Vushaun Landrum finished in 6.85 to clip Davis by one-hundredth of a second.

“I still think I won that,” Davis said. “I guess they don’t count your head and shoulders going across the finish line because I leaned and I beat him.

“It’s gonna help me a lot and make me train harder. I’m more motivated now because I’m a little ticked off. I’m really ticked off, actually.”

It was that kind of day for the Penguin men, who were within striking distance of the runner-up trophy all weekend but couldn’t string together enough points, finishing with 89.5 behind Milwaukee (126.5), Detroit (97) and Butler (93).

YSU’s throwers excelled (as usual), with sophomore Bobby Grace and senior Jeremiah Folger placing 1-2 in the shot put and freshman George Thomas taking second in the weight throw.

But the Panthers piled up points with their depth, while the Bulldogs relied on their distance runners and Detroit used the singular brilliance of senior Lesley Hanna, who earned Outstanding Runner after finishing first in the 200 and 400 and anchoring the winning 4x400 relay, which shattered the league record by 3 1/2 seconds.

“I’m happy with our improvements,” YSU coach Brian Gorby said. “Milwaukee, that’s what we’re trying to get to.”

The WATTS — YSU’s indoor facility — is expected to open in June, which will be a huge benefit to a Penguin program that splits practices between gym floors and bus rides to Kent State’s indoor track. Milwaukee has had an indoor facility for 15 years and Gorby is hoping the WATTS will help his program close the gap.

“Right now, it’s almost an arms race,” he said. “We’re optimistic about the future, but you’ve got to give credit to Detroit and Milwaukee for stepping it up this weekend.”