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YSU throwers dominate
Special to the Vindicator
Photo
Youngstown State junior Kaitlyn Griffith gets ready to throw the shot put during the Horizon League indoor championship this weekend at the GaREAT Sports Complex in Geneva. Griffith won the event.
By Joe Scalzo
GENEVA
It’s never a good sign when your rivals are breaking conference records while you’re breaking bones.
The Youngstown State women’s track team dominated the throwing events at this weekend’s Horizon League indoor championships but couldn’t match Milwaukee’s distance runners or its depth, finishing second in the team standings at the GaREAT Sports Complex.
“We had kids stepping up all over,” said Penguins coach Brian Gorby, whose team scored 117 points to Milwaukee’s 154. “The problem is Milwaukee’s depth is phenomenal.
“They had four kids set conference records while we’re setting school records.”
Still, it wasn’t a bad showing for a team with no indoor — or outdoor — track, especially since the Penguins are better suited to compete in the outdoor season, where their sprinters and throwers can make a bigger impact.
The runner-up finish marked the eighth time the women’s team has finished first or second at the conference meet since joining the league 10 years ago.
“We really wanted first but this shows what we’re capable of,” said YSU freshman Katrina Rettburg, who earned field newcomer of the year after winning the high jump. “We want to get further up there [on the podium], so we’ve got to work harder.
“We know where we’re weak at and we’ve got to work on that so, hopefully, when we get to the outdoor season, we can finish first.”
The Penguins won four events, with freshman Ciara Jarrett capturing the 200-meter dash title, junior Kaitlyn Griffith winning the shot put and senior Alexis Hall capturing the weight throw.
Unfortunately, Hall was hit in the foot by an errant shot while watching the men’s competition Sunday afternoon and was rushed to the hospital. Early reports had her breaking two bones, which will likely sideline her for at least two months.
“This is her fifth year, so we’re hoping for a 6-to-7 week recovery and have her back for outdoor,” Gorby said.
Griffith finished second in the shot put — she threw personal-bests in both events — but missed out on the outstanding field performer to Milwaukee senior Regina Pierce, who set a conference and facility record in the long jump (19-63/4 ) and finished second in the triple jump.
“I’m happy with everything I did and in the throws, we dominated,” Griffith said. “As a team, we had a lot of [personal bests] but it just didn’t come out the way we wanted.”
Still, it was a better showing than last season, when the Penguins dipped to fifth place — 129 points behind the first-place Panthers. Gorby knew last season would be a rough one for his team, so he redshirted a handful of athletes, including senior Alisha Anthony, with an eye toward this season.
The move paid off as Anthony placed in four events (the 60, 200, long jump and triple jump) and broke her own school record in the long jump by leaping 19-41/4.
“It’s like I told the kids, nobody went backward,” said Gorby, who won league titles in 2004, 2005 and 2008. “I’m happy with how we performed.”