Youngstown State women’s program goes for ninth straight Horizon League outdoor title
The Youngstown State women’s track and field team is out for its ninth consecutive league title and 10th in the last 11 years as they play host to the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning Friday at the Covelli Sports Complex and the YSU Throws Complex.
This marks the fifth championship event hosted at YSU since 2014. The Guins have won each of the outdoor titles held in Youngstown dating back to the 2008 event. Youngstown State is going for its 15th overall outdoor championship title.
At the league meet in 2022, the women’s program closed out championship weekend with a total of 252 points, winning by an impressive 107 points. The Penguins won the 100m, 200m, 110m hurdles, 1,500m, 5,000m, 10,000m, javelin, pole vault and heptathlon to outdistance runner-up Oakland and third-place Milwaukee. They captured their eighth consecutive league title and ninth in the last 10 years, while also securing program’s 14th Horizon League team title – an ongoing league best.
The Penguins return four event winners from last year’s squad in Kyndia Matlock (100m), Morgan Cole (5,000m and 10,000m), Olivia Jones (javelin and heptathlon) and Erin Bogard (pole vault). Cole and Matlock were recognized as co-Outstanding Running Performers of the Meet in 2022 while Jones was the Outstanding Field Performer. YSU also returns 2021 outdoor 100m and 200m winner Jahniya Bowers.
The three-day meet will commence on Friday at noon, getting underway with the first events of the decathlon along with the discus. The heptathlon begins at 12:30 p.m. while the javelin is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start. Running events will begin at 7:20 p.m. with preliminary races of the women’s 1500m run.
Action will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. with the final five events of the decathlon while the final three events of the heptathlon start at 9:30 a.m. Field events will begin at noon with the shot put and long jump. Saturday’s running events will feature preliminary heats beginning at 4 p.m., beginning with the 100m hurdles.
On Sunday, the triple jump and high jump open up the final day at 9 a.m. Running events are set to get underway with the finals of the 4x100m relay at Noon.
Event breakdown
100m – YSU has three of the top four athletes in the event and the past two champions in this year’s race. Kyndia Matlock won last year’s race with a time of 11.54 seconds while Jahniya Bowers won the race in 2021 with a time of 11.78 seconds. In 2021, the 100m became a one-heat final at YSU after weather conditions forced a modified schedule. Matlock claimed a second-place finish in the 100m in 2021. Bowers owns the top time in the league at 11.26 seconds and that time ranks her tied for 29th in the NCAA this spring. Matlock and Nia Grose are tied for third at 11.87 seconds. Cyncere Cunningham and Logan Franczkowski will also be part of the YSU lineup. The Guins have won the 100m in 11 straight HL meets.
200m – Like the 100m, Bowers earned the event win in 2021, but did not race in 2022. In 2021 she posted a winning team of 24.18 seconds as the race was moved into the WATTS. Matlock was second in 2022 with a time of 24.24 seconds and also reached the finals in 2021. This year, Bowers owns the top time by almost a half second at 23.71 seconds while Matlock is fifth. Also slated to compete in the event are Grose, Cunningham and Franczkowski. YSU has also won 12 consecutive 200m races.
400m – Liana Rodriguez is YSU’s lone representative in the race. She enters the HL championships with a seed time of sixth at 56.99 seconds. Last year she was seventh in the event.
800m – Newcomer Malena Cybak could find herself in a race for the title. She’s had an outstanding spring season with a top time of 2:13.57 in the event. The ranks third fastest in the league entering Saturday’s prelims. That time also moved her into third place in school history. Also in the event are Alayna Cuevas and Aiamyia Dudley. Dudley finished second last year and was the top YSU finisher in the event.
1500m – Cybak ranks in the top four in the event and could be near the top of the podium. Carly Hall is YSU’s top returning finisher in the event after placing sixth last year with a time of 4:42.52. She has a best time of 4:40.55 this season. Also running in the 1500m is Cuevas.
5,000m – Morgan Cole looks to become the first three-time 5,000m champion. Cole won the event in 2021 and 2022. Last year at Oakland she won with a time of 17:25.45 holding a two-second margin over second place. In 2021 at the WATTS she posted a time of 17:08.74. She has a top time this year of 15:53.78 which is tops in the league by 10 seconds. Mackenzie Scott, Hannah Wagner, Caylee Mackey, Ashley Ventimiglia and Molly Hopple will join Cole in the 5K. Scott brings veteran experience having competed in the 5,000m at the past two league meets.
10,000m – Cole will be going for a repeat win in the 10K as well on Friday evening. She won last year’s race with a time of 35:41.11. Scott earned a fifth-place finish at last year’s outdoor meet. Ventimiglia and Hopple are also part of the race lineup.
100m Hurdles – Emily Bee will be YSU’s leader in the event ranking sixth in the Horizon League with a best time of 14.24 seconds. Senior Teddi Kinsey will also compete in the event and finished fourth at the outdoor meet in 2021.
400m Hurdles – Bee and Kinsey will strive for points in the 400m hurdles as well. Bee has a top time of 1:03.84 while Kinsey has a best of 1:04.02.
High Jump – Olivia Jones ranks second in the Horizon League this spring with a best effort of 1.70m. Jones was fourth in the event last year and finished eighth in 2021. Rachel Jeffries will also compete for YSU.
Pole Vault – YSU has four of the top six performers in the conference entering the league meet. Leading the way is Erin Bogard who is a two-time defending champion and has the top mark in the HL so far this year. Bogard has a best mark of 4.03m which came recently at the Ashland Alumni Open. Melana Schumaker sits third at 3.90m while Emma Etzwiler and Gabbi Selman are tied for fifth at 3.65m. Bogard won with a school-record 4.05m performance last year while Etwiler was fifth.
Long Jump – Esther Solarin, Nia Williams-Matthews, Bee, Kodi Kinsey and Alexis Prater will look to be in the mix in the event. Solarin is the top ranking Penguin with a best effort of 5.63m this year. Prater was third last year while Williams-Matthews was eighth at the league met.
Triple Jump – YSU has two of the top three marks in the conference as Nia Williams-Matthews owns the top mark and Solarin ranks third. Williams-Matthews has been the league runner up at each of the last two meets. She has a top mark of 12.54m this spring while Solarin is at 12.11m.
Shot Put – Molly Radcliffe and Lauren Sheehan will pace the Guins in the shot as they rank first and third entering the league meet. Radcliffe, who was third last year in the event, has a best throw of 14.74m this spring. Sheehan has a best effort of 13.88m.
Discus – Radcliffe leads the way in the discus as well while Krista Perry ranks third in the league. At the 2022 league meet, Radcliffe was third and Perry placed fourth. This spring, Radcliffe’s top throw is 46.37m while Perry has a top toss of 44.98m.
Hammer Throw – Radcliffe, Lauren Sheehan, Perry and Grace Sparks will take part in the event. Radcliffe ranks third in the league in event at 49.83m while Sheehan is sixth at 47.33m.
Javelin – YSU has three of the top four spots in the conference entering Friday afternoon’s event. Leading the way is first-year member Addi Watts who has an impressive throw of 46.05m to lead the league. Jones ranks second with a best throw of 40.75m while Valeria Young is fourth at 38.06m. Jones is looking for her third straight title in the event. She won last year with a best throw of 41.05m and in 2021 won with a toss of 43.80m.
Heptathlon – Jones captured her third straight title in the event last year scoring 4,840 points. She is trying to become the first-ever four-time winner of the event. This spring she had a best total of 4,738 points at the Hurricane Alumni Invitational a month ago.
Relays – Set to run in the 4x100m are Bowers, Matlock, Cunningham and Grose. YSU has a best seed time of 45.70 seconds for the year. YSU last won the event in 2021 at the Covelli Sports Complex. The Guins have won the title nine times overall and three of the last four years. In the 4x400m, YSU’s lineup is Franczkowski, Rodriguez, Matlock and Dudley. YSU has a top time of 3:56.91 this spring. The Guins last won this event in 2017.
YSU athletes competing
Emily Bee (100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, long jump), Erin Bogard (pole vault), Jahniya Bowers (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Morgan Cole (10,000m, 5,000m), Alayna Cuevas (1500m, 800m), Cyncere Cunningham (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Malena Cybak (1500m, 800m), Aiamyia Dudley (800m , 4x400m), Emma Etzwiler (pole vault), Logan Franczkowski (100m, 200m, 4x400m), Nia Grose (100m, 200m, 4x100m), Carly Hall (1500m, 800m), Molly Hopple (10,000m, 5,000m), Rachel Jeffries (high jump), Olivia Jones (heptathlon, javelin, high jump), Kodi Kinsey (long jump), Teddi Kinsey (400m Hurdles, 100m Hurdles, 4x400m), Caylee Mackey (5,000m), Kyndia Matlock (100m, 200m, 4x100m, 4x400m), Krista Perry (hammer throw, discus), Alexis Prater (long jump), Molly Radcliffe (hammer throw, shot put, discus) Liana Rodriguez (400m, 4x400m), Melana Schumaker (pole vault), Mackenzie Scott (10,000m, 5,000m), Gabbi Selman (pole vault), Lauren Sheehan (hammer throw, shot put), Esther Solarin (long jump, triple jump), Grace Sparks (hammer throw), Ashley Ventimiglia (10,000m, 5,000m), Hannah Wagner (5,000m), Sydney Walker (pole vault), Addi Watts (javelin), Nia Williams-Matthews (long jump, triple jump) and Valeria Young (javelin).
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