Track & Field

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Jones Solid in 800m, Anderson Wraps Up Career at Mideast Regional
Tuesday, June 3 2008

Fayetteville, Ark. -- Harold Jones ran a personal-best time of 1:51.42 to finish 14th in the 800-meters and highlight Youngstown State's trip to the 2008 NCAA Mideast Regional.

Jones' time ranks him third in school history behind Kurt Michaelis and Paul Carter. Jones, a sophomore from Cincinnati, Ohio, also turned in the top finish by a Penguin at the regional.

Sophomore Aaron Merrill placed 15th in the shot put (54-10), Joe Lahmon was 17th in the hammer (190-0), Bethany Anderson was 23rd in the hammer (173-1) and Shayne York was 30th in the long jump (22-4 1/4).

For Anderson, a senior from Jamestown, N.Y., it was the final performance in her remarkable career at Youngstown State. She was YSU's Student-Athlete of the Year in 2006-07, and she was twice named the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year. She won 12 individual league titles, and she helped YSU to five team titles during her four years.

Track & Field

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Anderson Named Horizon League Scholar Athlete of the Week
Thursday, May 22 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State senior thrower Bethany Anderson has been named the Horizon League Scholar Athlete of the Week, the League announced Wednesday.

Anderson, a native of Jamestown, N.Y., finished fifth in the hammer at the Cardinal Invitational on Saturday with a mark of 176-7. That distance was just shy of the NCAA Mideast Regional automatic qualifying standard, which she has already eclipsed.

Academically, Anderson is a five-time Academic All-Horizon League honoree. She holds a 3.46 grade-point average in physical educaction.

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Merrill, Anthony Sweep Horizon League Awards
Wednesday, May 14 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State track and field standouts Aaron Merrill and Alisha Anthony have been named the U.S. Army Horizon League Scholar-Athletes of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.

This marks the first time in two years that YSU has won both the male and female scholar-athlete awards in the same week.

Anthony, a redshirt freshman from Van Wert, Ohio, had the best meet of her career over the weekend at the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in leading the Penguins to the team title. Anthony was named the Field Newcomer of the Year after winning the triple jump and placing second in the triple jump with school-record marks in both. She was also the runner-up in the 100-meter dash, and she ran in YSU's winning 4x100-meter relay. She owns a 3.75 grade-point average as an exercise science major.

Merrill, a junior academically and sophomore by eligibility, won the shot put at the conference meet by more than five feet with an NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying mark of 55-8 1/4. He also posted personal-best marks in the discus and hammer to place third and sixth, respectively. He holds a 3.66 GPA as a criminal justice major. Merrill was also named the male Scholar-Athlete of the Week on March 11.

To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must maintain at least a 3.20 GPA and completed at least one year at a Horizon League institution. Winners are selected by a group of League faculty athletic representatives.

Track & Field

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Anthony, Romeo Lead Penguins to Horizon Sweep with Outdoor Title
Friday, May 9 2008

Youngstown -- Youngstown State's Alisha Anthony and Breanne Romeo were named the top newcomers, and the Penguins had a solid all-around effort to capture the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field crown on campus Friday.

Anthony won the triple jump with a school-record mark off 39-4 and finished second in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 18-11 1/4. Romeo was one-hundredth of a second from tying the Horizon League record in the 400m, turning in a first-place time of 55.36. The freshman from Boardman, Ohio, also finished sixth in the 200m and ran the first leg of YSU's champion 4x400m-relay.

Head coach Brian Gorby was named the Women's Coach of the Year for the 15th time inhis career after leading the program to its seventh league title in the last five years.

Bethany Anderson added a win in the hammer on Thursday, and both of YSU's women's relays were victorious. The Penguins defeated Milwaukee 194-178 while Valparaiso finished third in its first year in the league with 74 points.

Freshman Jerrill Hall was named the Men's Field Newcomer of the Year after placing second in the high jump (6-6 3/4) and sixth in the long jump (22-1 3/4). The Penguins men's squad earned the runner-up finish for the second time in three years, coming 14 points shy of Milwaukee for the title.

Both squads led after the first day of competition, but Milwaukee made a strong run for both titles on day two. The YSU actually held the lead longer than the women before Milwaukee rallied to outscore YSU 46-10 in the 200m and triple jump in the final hour. YSU and Milwaukee traded the lead throughout the afternoon in the women's competition before Anthony's big win in the triple jump and strong performances in the 400m hurdles and the 200m lifted the Penguins to a sweep of the indoor and outdoor titles for the first time since 2005.

Harold Jones and Aaron Merrill joined Shayne York as individual champions for the men's squad. Jones held off teammate R.D. Goodright to win the 800m with a personal-best time of 1:52.76. Merrill led three Penguins in the top four in the shot put with a winning heave of 55-8 1/4.

Joining Romeo on the winning 4x400m relay were Emily Wollet, Yandeh Joh and Kari Kreutzfeld. Anthony and Kreutzfeld teamed up with Katie Betts and Darcelle Formby to win the 4x100m relay.

Earning second-team all-conference honors with runner-up finishes were Anthony in the 100m (12.37), Katy Wells in the 100m hurdles (14.89), Joh in the 400m hurdles (1:04.38), Jen Grayson in the high jump (5-3), Anthony in the long jump, Anderson in the shot put (43-7) and the discus (139-6) and Alexis Hall in the hammer (160-7).

Second-place finishers for the men included Adam Kagarise in the 400m (47.89), Goodright in the 800m (1:53.08), Jake Lape in the steeplechasae (9:43.43), Hall in the high jump and Joe Lahmon in the hammer (187-10) and the javelin (168-10). Jones, Goodright, Kagarise and Mike Perri ran in the runner-up 4x400m relay.

All six of YSU's individual champions and the two winning relays earned a berth to compete at the NCAA Mideast Regional on May 30-31 at the University of Arkansas.

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Anderson, York Earn Wins as Both Squads Lead After First Day
Friday, May 9 2008

Youngstown -- Bethany Anderson set the meet record in the hammer, and Shayne York won the long jump to highlight day one for Youngstown State at the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships on campus.

Anderson won the hammer for the third straight year with a mark of 182-5, which surpassed Andrea Karpala's 2003 distance for the top ever thrown at the championship meet.

York earned his first conference crown after finishing third a year ago. He leaped a personal-best 23-0 3/4 to edge Milwaukee's Josh Zill by five inches.

Anderson added a second-place effort in the discus with a personal-best 139-6. Through six events - Thursday's five finals and the heptathlon completed last week - YSU's women lead Milwaukee 49-41. The Penguins' men lead by 20 points over Valparaiso, 51-31, and four-time defending champion Milwaukee is fourth with 26.

Alisha Anthony and Alexis Hall also earned second-team all-conference honors for the women with their runner-up finishes. Anderson placed second in the long jump with a school-record leap of 18-11 1/4, and Alexis Hall placed second in the hammer (160-7).

Along with Anderson and Hall, Danielle Curry finished fourth and Marissa Opper placed fifth to give the Penguins four out of the top five finishes in the hammer and 24 points.

In Thursday finals for the men, Joe Lahmon finished second in the hammer with an NCAA Mideast Regional qualifying mark of 187-10, and freshman Jake Lape finished second in the steeplechase (9:43.43). The men's squad also finished third through fifth in the discus to earn 12 points.

Harold Jones has the top preliminary time in the 800m (1:54.51), and J.D. Sheppard and R.D. Goodright won their heats to reach finals.

The women's squad will have plenty of opportunities to score in the sprints on Friday. It has three finalists in the 100 hurdles, three in the 400m, three in the 100m and five in the 200m.

Field events begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. with the javelin, and running events will start at 2 p.m. with the 4x100m relay.

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Women's Track Goes for Sweep as League Meet Comes to Campus
Wednesday, May 7 2008

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State women's track and field team will try to win its second conference title of the year at the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships on the YSU campus this week.

The Penguins won the league's indoor crown at the beginning of March, and they'll look to sweep the season for the first time since 2005.

The championship meet will be held at the Youngstown State Track & Field Complex on Thursday and Friday. Thursday's events will begin at noon with the men's hammer and women's long jump and will go until approximately 7:30 p.m. The men's javelin will begin Friday's portion at 9 a.m., and the women's 4x400m-relay will wrap up the meet around 5:15 p.m. Running events on Thursday begin at 2:30 p.m. while Friday's start at 2 p.m.

This will be the first collegiate meet held on YSU's campus since the Mid-Continent Conference Championships in May 2001. It will also be the first time that the league's outdoor championship will be conducted at a site outside of Indianapolis.

Tickets will be sold at the gate and will be available in a one or two-day package. A single day pas for adults will be $10 while a two-day package will cost $15. Horizon League students will be admitted free of charge while students attending other colleges or high school will be $5 for one day and $8 for two days. Children aged 5-and-under will also be free.

The hammer and discus will be contested approximately 1/2 mile south of the main track at the corner of Walnut Street and Adams Street in Smoky Hollow. The main track is located at the corner of the Eastbound Service Road and Elm Street toward the North end of campus. Spectator parking is available near the track for $5 in the R-1 lot, which is located across from Cafaro House on Elm Street. Fans attending the hammer and discus events can park in the nearby M-9 and M-5 lots.

The Penguins have won seven Horizon League championships in track and field since joining the conference for the 2001-02 academic year. The women have won six of those titles since 2004 while the men's squad captured YSU's first Horizon League crown in any sport in 2003.

The women's squad boasts 10 members who have at least one individual or relay title to their credit. Senior thrower Bethany Anderson has collected 11 conference titles, and she is one of three members of the team who earned a major award at the indoor championship meet in March.

Anderson was named the Outstanding Field Performer, Danielle Curry was named the Field Newcomer of the Year and Boardman High graduate Breanne Romeo earned Running Newcomer of the Year honors.

The men's team is headlined by throwers Aaron Merrill and Joe Lahmon. Merrill, a native of Leetonia, Ohio, won the shot put during the indoor season and has improved his distance in the outdoor campaign. He holds the league's top mark by seven feet entering the meet, and he ranks 27th nationally. Lahmon was the Outstanding Field Performer at the outdoor championships in 2006, and he ranks second in the hammer coming into the week.

Merrill and Romeo are two of many local student-athletes on the squad. There are 16 members of the men's team and 13 more on the women's squad who hail from Mahoning, Trumbull or Columbiana counties.

Track & Field

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Merrill Improves Shot Put Record as Penguins Ready for League Meet
Tuesday, May 6 2008

Youngstown -- Youngstown State sophomore Aaron Merrill broke his own school record and improved his national ranking in the shot put over the weekend as the Penguins had their final tune-up for the Horizon League Championships.

Merrill posted a mark of 58-9 1/4 at the Butler Twilight to win the event by six feet, and he now unofficially ranks 24th in the country according to trackshark.com.

The sophomore from Leetonia, Ohio, will look to sweep the shot put for the year at the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held on YSU's campus on Thursday and Friday. Merrill won the indoor event by 6 1/2 feet, and he holds the circuit's top outdoor distance by more than seven feet.

John Pallini, the conference runner-up during the indoor season, added a sixth-place effort in the shot put at the Butler Twilight. Harold Jones placed second in the 800m (1:56.44) as the only YSU runner to compete.

Bethany Anderson highlighted the women's performances by winning the hammer (172-7) and throwing a season-best 43-8 in the shot put to place third. Alexis Hall added a fifth-place mark (148-9) in the hammer.

At the Toledo Invitational on Friday, Emily Wollet finished third in the 400m (58.36) while Kari Kretuzfeld finished fifth (58.51). Jennifer Roman placed sixth in the 800m with a season-best time of 2:19.86, and Katy Wells finished sixth in the 100m hurdles.

Marissa Opper finished fifth in the discus with a personal-best mark of 133-5.

Track & Field

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Romeo Qualifies for USA Junior Outdoor Championships at Red Flash Open
Monday, April 28 2008

Loretto, Pa. -- Youngstown State freshman Breanne Romeo qualified for the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 400-meter dash this weekend at the Saint Francis Red Flash Open.

Romeo (Boardman, Ohio) ran a time of 55.63 seconds to eclipse the qualifying standard of 55.94. She joins teammate Katie Betts as the only two sprinters in school history to qualify for the national meet. Romeo will now compete against sprinters aged 14 to 19 in the country on Saturday, June 21, at Ohio State's Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Romeo's time was one of nine performances by Youngstown State that broke a meet record and one of 10 individual victories.

In addition to Romeo's efforts, Alisha Anthony set two meet records in the field. She leaped 18-1 3/4 to win the long jump, and she posted a first-place mark of 36-4 3/4 in the triple jump. Aaron Merrill also set two meet records, winning the discus with a personal-best mark of 147-5 and taking the top spot in the shot put with a heave of 57-7 3/4.

Yandeh Joh won the 100m hurdles in a meet-record time of 14.86, and Dawn Goodwin won the steeplechase with a meet-record time of 12:56.50. Robyn Ray added a victory in the high jump (5-1 3/4).

On the men's side, Shayne York set the meet record in the long jump with a first-place leap of 22-5 3/4. Harold Jones clocked in with a meet-record time of 1:54.41 to win the 800m.

The Penguins will compete in three different meets next weekend, including the decathlon and heptathlon portions of the Horizon League Championships on Friday and Saturday in Indianapolis. YSU will also compete at the Toledo Invitational on Friday and the Butler Twilight on Saturday.

Women's Track & Field

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Yandeh Joh Named Horizon League Athlete of the Week
Wednesday, April 23 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State junior Yandeh Joh has been named the Horizon League Female Track and Field Athlete of the Week for her efforts at the Sparky Adams Invitational.

Joh was one of two Penguins to win two events at the Invitational, taking the top spot in the 100-meter hurdles and the long jump.
She leaped 17-4 in what was the first time she competed in the long jump during the outdoor season, and her hurdles time of 14.63 was just .04 seconds off her season-best.

Joh is the first YSU female to win the weekly award this season. Aaron Merrill and Joe Lahmon were previously named the male athlete of the week.

Track & Field

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Kagarise Sets 400m Record at Sparky Adams
Tuesday, April 22 2008

Berea, Ohio -- Redshirt freshman Adam Kagarise set the school record in the 400-meters, and Youngstown State student-athletes won 13 different events at the Paul "Sparky" Adams Invitational over the weekend.

Kagarise posted a first-place time of 47.53 to break Scott Weiser's previous top mark of 48.11 in 2004. The Austintown, Ohio, native added a second-place finish in the 200m as the Penguins prepared for the upcoming Horizon League Championships on May 8-9.

In addition to Kagarise's win, Harold Jones had the top time by four seconds in the 800m (1:53.28), and R.D. Goodright won the 1,500m (3:57.61). Jones and Goodright then teamed up with Scott Denham and J.D. Sheppard to win the 4x400m relay (3:18.44). Aaron Merrill won the shot put (55-5), and Joe Lahmon placed second in the hammer to highlight the field performances.

Darcelle Formby won the 100m (12.68) and 200m (25.20) while Yandeh Joh won the 100m hurdles (14.63) and the long jump (17-4) to lead the women's squad. Lauren Blase won the 5,000m (19:08.57), and the Penguins took the top spot in both the 4x100m (47.42) and 4x400m (3:50.73) relays. In the field, three Penguins were the top finishers in the shot put with Bethany Anderson placing first (42-7 1/2). She also finished second in the discus and second in the hammer.

YSU will compete at the Saint Francis Red Flash Open on Saturday.