YSU | Thursday’s news and notes

CROSS COUNTRY

AKRON

A pair of freshmen runners led the way for the Youngstown State men’s and women’s cross country teams at the Tommy Evans Invitational hosted by Akron. For the men, freshman Tyler Polman led the way with a solid time of 15:32.9 to finish in 10th place. For the second straight race, YSU’s lineup of six runners had five freshmen. Freshman Derek Basinger was 26th with a time of 16:12.2 while Cole Lovett was 32nd running a 5K time of 16:19.7. Freshman Natalie Fleming ran a 5K race time of 18:48.1 for 15th. Senior Michelle Klim was 18th with a time of 18:53.8 while Suzanne Koziol was 22nd running a 19:04.5. Two other freshmen finished in the top 35 for YSU as Ashleigh Rowley was 31st with a time of 19:22.7 and Nicole Squatrito was 35th at 19:25.4. The Penguins return on Sept. 30 at the George Mason Invitational in Washington, D.C.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Youngstown State men’s basketball team will open the Horizon League portion of its slate on New Year’s Day at Cleveland State. “We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to compete in such a great league like the Horizon League,” YSU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “There are so many tremendous coaches and players in our league that will make this season very competitive.” YSU has its home opener against Milwaukee (Jan. 4), and hosts Green Bay (Jan. 6). The Penguins play the next three games on the road at Oakland (Jan. 10), at Detroit Mercy (Jan. 12) and at Wright State (Jan. 15). YSU returns home for a pair of games against UIC (Jan. 18) and IUPUI (Jan. 20) before two away at Milwaukee (Jan. 25) and Green Bay (Jan. 27). The final month of regular season begins with two home games against Northern Kentucky (Feb. 1) and Wright State (Feb. 3). The Penguins visit UIC (Feb. 8) and IUPUI (Feb. 10) before returning home for matchups against Oakland (Feb. 14) and Detroit Mercy (Feb. 16). The Penguins visit Northern Kentucky (Feb. 19) before closing out the regular season hosting Cleveland State (Feb. 24). The 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Championship is March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The Youngstown State women’s basketball team will face two stretches of four straight road games while also having a four-game home stand during the 2017-18 Horizon League schedule. The Penguins begin their 17th season in the Horizon League on Dec. 28, against Detroit Mercy, and YSU will go on to play its first four conference games at Beeghly Center. YSU will then hit the road for eight of its next 10 contests before closing out the league slate with three of four on Rosselli Court. After the conference opener against Detroit Mercy, YSU will host Oakland on Dec. 30 in the final game of the 2017 calendar year. The four-game home stand will continue on Jan. 4 against UIC in the first of three doubleheaders with the YSU men’s program during conference play. The stretch at home will conclude on Jan. 6 with a doubleheader against IUPUI. YSU’s road-dominated stretch begins with three games in five days as the Penguins will play at Green Bay on Jan. 11, at Milwaukee on Jan. 13 and at Wright State on Jan. 15. YSU will then play at Cleveland State on Jan. 20 before returning home to host Northern Kentucky on Jan. 25 and Wright State on Jan. 27. The second four-game road trip will start off the month of February as the Penguins play at Oakland (Feb. 1), Detroit Mercy (Feb. 3), IUPUI (Feb. 8) and UIC (Feb. 10). The Penguins will then host Milwaukee on Feb. 15 and Green Bay on Feb. 17 before making a quick trip to Northern Kentucky on Feb. 19. The regular season will conclude with a doubleheader against Cleveland State on Feb. 24. The 2018 Little Caesars Horizon League Championship is March 2-6 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Staff report