YSU men’s and women’s track wins Horizon League titles in blowouts

By Dan Hiner

dhiner@vindy.com

Youngstown

Add two more trophies to Youngstown State’s Watson and Tressel Training Site.

The YSU track and field program won the men and women’s Horizon League indoor championships on Sunday in the WATTS. It’s the men’s fourth straight indoor title while the women won three consecutive indoor championships and five of the last six.

The men took first place with 238 points. Oakland was second with 128 and Milwaukee was third with 125. The women totaled 193 with Oakland (143.50) and Milwaukee (86.50) rounding out the top three.

Chad Zallow added to his title collection. The Warren JFK graduate broke the YSU, Horzion League and WATTS record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.69 seconds.

He also set records in the 200m with a 21.29 and won the 60m hurdles a 7.69. He was named the Horizon League Men’s Athlete of the Year and tied Illinois at Chicago’s Alex Bashqawie for the Men’s Outstanding Performer award in running events.

Zallow became the first sprinter in Horizon League history to win the 60m four times. He also became the second in conference history to win the 60m hurdles four times.

“I was more motivated today than last time at the indoor conference,” Zallow said. “The goal was to win one for the team and leave my legacy here.”

Girard graduate Collin Harden placed second to Zallow in the hurdles with a personal-best time of 7.99 seconds. Harden also finished second in the 400m with a time of 48.10.

But Zallow wasn’t the only sprinter atop the leaderboard.

Valley Christian graduate Jamynk Jackson and Boardman graduate Brendan Lucas finished just behind Zallow in the 60m and the 200m.

Jackson, a freshman, finished second in the 200m with a time of 21.71, 0.04 of a second ahead of Lucas.

“I not just about our sprints,” Jackson said. “Distance crew, long jumps, high jumps, pole vault. Everybody showed up and got the points we needed.”

Lucas wasn’t the only Boardman graduate to perform well.

Alan Burns took second in the 5,000m with a time of 15:00.47 and placed seventh in the 3,000m, recording a 8:36.91.

Sean Peterson won his second consecutive Horizon League title in the 800m after finishing in 1:53.18. He became the first back-to-back winner in the event since 1999-2000

Poland graduate Nicolette Kreatsoulas was named the Horizon League Outstanding Performer in field events. Kreatsoulas won the weight thrown on Saturday with a toss of 17.40m and was the runner-up in the shot put on Sunday with a throw of 13.23m. Teammate Kaitlyn Merwin won the shot put with an attempt of 15.28m.

“After shot put went so well, in the back of my mind I was like ‘Ok, maybe there is a chance [to win the Outstanding Performer award],’” Kreatsoulas said.

YSU’s Olivia Jones was named the Freshman of the Year in field events and Suerethia Henderson won the award for runners.

Jones won the pentathlon on Saturday and placed fifth in the high jump with an attempt of 1.61m. Henderson was the runner-up in the 60m (7.58 seconds) and the 200m (24.33), behind YSU’s Jaliyah Elliott in both events.

Elliott set the Horizon League and WATTS record in the 60m on Saturday. The records didn’t last long. She broke her record with a time of 7.25, 0.01 of a second ahead of her time in preliminaries.

With the win, Elliott increased her chances of qualifying for nationals.

“My whole goal for this indoor season was to make nationals,” Elliott said. “Hopefully I can squeeze through there and make it. That was my ultimate goal for the season. Not conference. Nationals.”

Elliott ran a 23.85 in the 200, breaking another Horizon League record.

Abby Jones broke the Horizon League and facility record with a jump of 1.75m in the high jump.

But the record wasn’t enough. She finished second to UIC’s Peyton Wade, who recorded a leap of 1.78m.

McDonald graduate Iva Domitrovich was third in the 400m, finishing with a time of 57.10. Natalie Fleming came from the back of the pack to win the 800m with a time of 2:13.17.

YSU head coach Brian Gorby won the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year awards on his way to his 38th and 39th career conference championships.

“I’m speechless at how awesome this was,” Gorby said. “This was a complete team effort. Usually one area does good and one area does average.

“Look at all the school records, the Horizon League records, personal bests. This was probably the most complete meet we’ve ever had come a team standpoint.”

Strong Finish

Detroit sprinter and Ursuline graduate A.J. Carnathan finished sixth in the 60m with a time of 7.80, the best time of here career.

Carnathan finished sixth in the 60m during her freshman season. She was named the 2016 Indoor Co-Rookie of the Year for her performance.

A fitting end to the senior’s last race in Youngstown.

“It’s just an amazing opportunity — to use a track analogy — to bring it full circle,” Carnathan said. “I get to finish where I started and that’s something a lot of people don’t get. I don’t take it lightly that I was able to do it.”

YSU recruited Carnathan but she wanted to become independent in a new city, while also knowing she would return home for the conference championships.

“I’m telling my teammates, ‘We’re going home.’ Of course it’s not their home, but it’s my home,” Carnathan said.

Carnathan will graduate in May with a degree in Pre-Med (Biology). She will become a phlebotomist after graduation before enrolling in medical school in 2020.

“I want to take some time to decompress before entering medical school,” Carnathan said. “It’s gonna be rigorous, but I’ll still be active and getting clinical experience drawing blood.”