YSU track holding lead at Horizon League Championship

By Charles Grove | February 26, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

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Both the Youngstown State men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams hold seven-point leads on Oakland after the first of two days at the Horizon League Championships.

Highlights on the men’s side included Chad Zallow, who qualified for final events in the 60 hurdles, the 60 dash and the 200 dash.

But the biggest story in terms of team standings was the damage YSU did to Oakland in the 5-kilometer run.

Oakland, the strongest team in the conference in terms of distance runners, was expected to take 24 points from the event while on paper it appeared YSU would only score three. But a little strategy changed the pace of the race and the Penguins took 13 points while Oakland took 15 — a 19 point swing.

“This isn’t something we were expecting,” Howland graduate and YSU distance runner Ryan Sullivan said. “This is huge for the team.”

After about half-a-mile into the event, YSU sent out Ethan Wilson into the lead. Wilson wasn’t expected to contend but it forced Oakland’s top runners to spend energy tracking him down. That decoy allowed YSU to control the pace of the race and allow its runners to sneak into scoring positions.

“Oakland beat our guys three weeks ago in the same event by probably 150 meters,” YSU head coach Brian Gorby said. “Our guys know how to step up.”

If everything goes according to plan in other areas, the points YSU gained from distance events could tip the scales in its favor.

“Everything is setting up,” Gorby said. “Oakland was supposed to kill us in the distance and we’re pretty much matching them even for even.”

Oakland was further hurt by their main weight thrower fouling out while Matt Monroe snuck up and took second in that event to keep the math coming in YSU’s favor.

Freshman Tim Holzapfel also set a WATTS record and Horizon League record in the heptathlon high jump at 2.01 meters.

On the women’s side, YSU has a strong chance to sweep the top four spots in the 200 dash final today. Taylor McDonald (24.73 seconds), Keishawnna Burts (24.82), Jayilah Elliott (25.07) and Taylor Thompkins (25.15) are the top four seeds — a major advantage no other team has in any other event.

“The 200 is our event,” Gorby said. “There’s not another team that can do something like that.”

The foursome is excited about the opportunity to sweep the top four places if they run well today.

“This feels great,” McDonald said. “I hit a major [personal record] and coach told me I’d be peaking at conference. [My teammates] push each other and I know we’re going to get one through four in the finals if we believe in each other.”

Another highlight for the women was Amber Eles setting a school record in the 60 hurdles at 8.46 seconds. She was all smiles unlike her win earlier at the YSU College Invitational when she felt her 8.65 time wasn’t nearly good enough.

“I’m honestly speechless,” Eles said. “I was not expecting to run that fast in prelims but I am overthrilled about it. I can’t wait for [today].”

Senior Chenary Lacey won the pentathlon event that had alluded her her time at YSU setting a new school record at 3,557 points.

Jaynee Corbett dominated the competition in the weight throw reaching a new career-best distance of 18.4 meters. It smashed her old personal best of 17.45 meters.

“Jaynee went big today in her event,” Gorby said. “This is just a different type of event and it comes with a different mentality.”