YSU women win Horizon indoor title

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Ciara Jarrett, Jennifer Neider, Mackenzie Sturtz and Jen Shiley all won individual events on Sunday to help the Youngstown State women’s track and field team pull away for its fourth Horizon League indoor title — and first since 2008 — at the WATTS.

The Penguins finished with 171 points, while Detroit was second with 91 and Milwaukee was third with 76 points.

YSU’s McKinsie Klim, a Poland High graduate, was named track freshman of the year, while teammate Nicole Waibel was field freshman of the year. Penguins coach Brian Gorby was named women’s coach of the year.

Sturtz won YSU’s seventh straight high jump title, leaping 1.69 meters. Freshman teammate Chenera Lacey placed third and junior Leanna Hartsough was fifth.

Freshman Savannah Osborne, Ellie Pollock, Lacey and senior Kendall Homan all scored in the triple jump. Osborne placed in third, jumping 11.51 meters, while Pollock was fourth, Lacey fifth and Homan sixth. Osborne, Lacy and Homan all had personal-best jumps.

Freshman Sage Spotleson finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles in 9.07.

Neider won her second consecutive shot put title — and YSU’s fourth straight — with a toss of 14.00 meters. Freshman Jayne Corbett placed fourth.

Shiley broke her own personal-best time in the 400 by .33 seconds to take home the title in 56.50. Shiley beat the second place finisher, Shannon Marchant of Detroit, by .65 seconds.

Nina Grambling took second in the 60, while Jarrett was third and Alexis Washington fourth.

Jarrett won the 200 to become the Penguins’ first four-time champion in the same event. She finished in 24.61 seconds to beat out Grambling, who took second place, with a time of 24.77 seconds. Washington finished fifth.

Senior Alexis Cooper took sixth in the 800 with a season-best time of 2:16.31.

Klim finished fifth in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:24.08.

YSU women’s 4x400 meter relay team of Alteeka Vanwright, Jarrett, Cooper and Shiley came in second place, running a time of 3:50.46 seconds. Detroit was first in 3:50.73 seconds.

On the men’s side, YSU’s Eric Rupe and Bobby Grace each won events to help the Penguins place second.

Milwaukee was first with 158 points, YSU had 143 points and Oakland was third with 81 points.

Grace won athlete of the year and most outstanding performer, while William Royal was field freshman of the year and Rupe (Maplewood) won the individual scoring award.

YSU trailed by five points entering the final event, the 4x400 relay. Milwaukee won the event, while the Penguins were disqualified following a video review after initially taking third.

In the shot put the Penguins took first, second, third, and sixth with Grace leading the way with a throw of 19.13 meters to break the Horizon League record of 17.62 meters set in 2012.

Freshman Stephen Lyons finished second and senior Eric Vendemia was third. Both had season-best throws. Sophomore Jacob Chiclowe was sixth.

Sophomore Jay Jakovina tied for second in the high jump with a leap of 2.04 meters and freshman Arnaldo Morales was fourth.

Rupe finished second in the mile (4:12.43) and Austin McLean was third in a season-best 4:12.62.

Robin Hall was second in the 400 in a season-best 48.18 and John Helms took fourth in 49.12, also a personal best.

In the 60-meter dash, freshman Marcellus Embry was third with a season-best time of 6.96 seconds.

Royal, who won the long jump on Saturday, placed fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 13.92 meters to make it his farthest jump of the year by .20 meters.

Rupe won the 3,000 in 8:32.49 after finishing first in the 5,000 on Saturday. He is just the third male athlete to win the 3,000 and 5,000 at the same HL meet in 33 years.

Nick Gliha was fourth in the 3,000 with a season-best time and McLean was fifth.