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East track stars commit to YSU
Allen, Bowers and
Matlock will run for
Penguins track team
By Dan Hiner
Youngstown
The East track and field team has become a family. So much so that relay runner Kyndia Matlock will join teammate DeShante Allen on Thanksgiving.
On Tuesday three members of the Golden Bears’ family signed their college letters at East High School.
Sprinters Jahniya Bowers, Matlock and Allen all signed with Youngstown State track.
“They’re like my daughters, so this is probably one of the most exciting moments of my life,” East head coach Kevin Cylar said. “To see them get their education paid for from the school I graduated from — being an alumni of Youngstown State — it’s a proud moment.”
The signees are a part of the East relay team, which finished second at state in the 4x100 and 4x200.
Individually, Bowers and Matlock finished fifth and sixth in the state meet in the 100-meter dash.
Bowers and Matlock will continue to compete in the 100 and 200 at YSU.
“I don’t have to pay for college — it’s paid for,” Bowers said. “I get four or five years, I get to take my talents to the next level, I’m ready to compete and continue to excel.”
The state meet was nothing new for Matlock.
She joined the Golden Bears last season after qualifying for state in 2017 while at Niles.
It took some time to build chemistry with the other runners at East, but eventually it became second nature. Matlock is excited to see the teamwork continue at the college level.
“[The chemistry] definitely shows on the track,” Matlock said. “We could be having a bad practice and our handoffs are terrible, then we get to the meet and they’re smooth. I really think it’s the chemistry off the track.
“Getting to know each other at the beginning, it was real rough. But once we clicked, it was unbreakable.”
Allen didn’t just compete in the relays. She came in 11th at state in the long jump at 17-02.75.
Last season was her first year of high school track. She participated when she was younger, but never entered the East program until 2018.
“I stopped when I was about 9, so this was the first time I actually did it,” Allen said. “[Receiving a scholarship] feels good. My coaches ... I probably wouldn’t have even finished if it wasn’t for them. I probably wouldn’t be in the place I’m at if it wasn’t for [Cylar].”
The East runners will be joining a YSU team that is coming off another successful season.
The YSU women’s track and field team claimed their fifth straight Horizon League outdoor title in May. In February, the Penguins won their second straight Horizon League Indoor, and their fourth in the last five years.
“They couldn’t be going to a better university,” Cylar said. “And for those three girls to be on scholarship, that’s kind of unheard of because track doesn’t give out a lot of scholarships. For them to be able to accomplish this feat for Youngstown East, it’s hats off to the whole Golden Bear family. It’s a culmination of work from the top, down.”