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YSU track team enjoys tremendous Day 1
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown State track and field head coach Brian Gorby said he would know how well this weekend’s Horizon League Outdoor Championships would be going after he got a look at day one.
The verdict couldn’t be better.
“It was a tremendous first day,” Gorby said. “Our throwing program deserves a ton of credit. They really put us on their backs today and set us apart from everyone else.”
The Penguins swept the throwing competitions on Friday. Tyler Donati won the men’s javelin with a Horizon League record throw of 62-60 (meters-centimeters), Jaynee Corbett won the women’s discus with a facility record of 45-6, freshman Angela Lock won the women’s javelin with a throw of 36-44 and Ryan Booth won the men’s discus with a throw of 49-75.
Overall, YSU leads Milwaukee on the men’s side 40-16 while YSU also leads Oakland on the women’s side 45-26.
The day started off well for YSU when it became apparent Nicolette Kreatsoulas and Corbett were going to finish first and second during the discus finals. Kreatsoulas threw a 43-6 in the preliminary round and nobody could touch it until Corbett unloaded for the new facility record on her final throw.
“It’s the coolest thing ever finishing 1-2 like that,” Corbett said. “I did the same thing last year when I had to make a throw under pressure. I just had to relax because I was trying too hard. I was missing something.”
And there were nothing but smiles from Kreatsoulas having to take the hard-luck second place to her teammate.
“It feels great. How can you be mad?” Kreatsoulas said. “It feels good to do your best and I think we did our best today.”
The other new school record dropped jaws and brought cheers from nearly everyone in the facility when Donati broke the Horizon League record in the javelin on his final throw. His throw came just minutes after teammate Jake Wilson broke the school record in the preliminary round.
“I had to say screw it and just go after it,” Donati said. “I crapped the bed on my throws [after Jake’s record] and I wouldn’t have thrown that far at all if it wasn’t for Jake and Joe [Dixon]’s energy. Everyone around was getting into the event.”
The YSU men finished first, second, third, sixth and seventh in the javelin, scoring 29 points, the most points any YSU team has scored in an outdoor track and field event.
“To score 29 points in one event, it really sends a message and sets the tone for the weekend,” Gorby said. “It sets our energy to a different level.”
Lock, YSU’s lone javelin specialist, blew away her competition early on her second throw. Her 36-44 heave in prelims had her jaw dropping as she walked back to her throwing coach, former YSU standout Conner Neu.
Nobody came closer to Lock than Oakland’s Angela Ciaravino, who eventually threw a 34-85 during the finals. But Lock’s throw remained supreme.
“It’s relieving because I’ve been working on this every single day and it all comes down to three throws,” Lock said. “When I hit the 36-meter mark I knew I had it.”
Lock wasn’t even supposed to be a Penguin not too long ago. She was looking to play softball elsewhere, but when YSU was the only school to offer her a spot on a track and field team, she went for it.
“I’m really proud of myself,” Lock said. “I felt like I was just competing with myself out there today.”
Booth, who on paper was supposed to finish second to Oakland’s Gino Vitella, beat Vitella by less than half a meter to earn his victory. But Booth said he wasn’t surprised.
“It was not unexpected,” Booth said. “I’ve been throwing pretty well this whole week. I’ve been flirting with first place the past two-three years.”
Taking points away from Oakland will be a huge benefit to YSU when the final team scores are tallied.
“We’re bringing in more points than we have in the past couple years so hopefully it turns out well,” Booth said.