Youngstown State notebook: Pole vaulters place in top 15 in indoor nationals
Youngstown State pole vaulters Dorian Chaigneau and Wyatt Lefker each earned second-team All-America honors in the pole vault following their performances at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Chaigneau cleared three heights 5.31m (second attempt), 5.41m (first attempt) and 5.51m (first attempt) while Lefker eclipsed 5.31m (third attempt) as both finished in the top 15 at the meet.
Chaigneau earned a ninth-place finish in the event during a tremendous showing at his first Division I NCAA competition. The two-time NCAA Division two finalist, tied the school record with his best clearance of 5.51m. He tried three attempts at 5.56m to remain in the competition, but was one of four athletes eliminated at that height.
Lefker finished 15th in the first NCAA indoor appearance in his career to earn second-team All-America honors. After clearing 5.31m on his third attempt to remain in the event, he passed on 5.41m and 5.46m before attempting 5.51m, however he was unable to clear the height.
Lefker and Chaigneau were the only Horizon League athletes to compete at the Indoor Championships. It marked the eighth time that a Penguin finished in the top 10 of an event at the NCAA meet.
Baseball: Team drops opener to Kansas State
The Youngstown State baseball team dropped a 20-4 decision to Kansas State in the series opener on Friday at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.
The Wildcats scored in each of the first five frames and pulled away with an 11-run seventh inning.
Youngstown State falls to 3-11 overall while Kansas State improves to 9-5.
Turner Grau went 2-for-5 with three RBIs while Trey Law was 2-for-4 with a double, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Matt Thompson and Andre Good also had two hits apiece for the Penguins.
YSU starter Travis Perry suffered the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and six walks over three innings of work.
Kansas State grabbed an early lead with a run in the bottom half of the first inning. Brendan Jones drew a leadoff walk and proceeded to steal second and third before scoring on an RBI groundout by Nick Goodwin to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Youngstown State responded immediately in the top of the second to even the score at 1-1. Steven D’Eusanio reached on an error, advanced to third on a single by Thompson and scored on an RBI single from Good.
The Wildcats regained the lead with two runs on two hits in the home half of the second inning. Cash Rugely drew a leadoff walk, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from Raphael Pelletier. Goodwin brought home the second run of the frame with another sacrifice fly to give K-State a 3-1 edge.
Kansas State pushed its lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the third when Orlando Salinas drew a two-out walk and Rugely followed with a two-run home run to center field. The Wildcats increased their advantage to 7-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Roberto Pena hit a leadoff double and Jones followed with a two-run homer to left field.
The Penguins got back on the board with a single run in the top of the fifth inning. Law hit a one-out single, stole second and came around to score when Grau reached on a dropped fly ball to right field.
K-State got its lead back to six runs at 8-2 in the bottom of the fifth when Cole Johnson reached on an error and came around to score on an RBI single by Rugely.
YSU cut KSU’s lead to 8-3 in the top of the seventh inning when Law drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Grau.
Kansas State answered with 11 runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and one in the eighth to build a double-digit lead.
Law hit a leadoff double and scored on an RBI groundout by Grau in the top of the ninth for the final margin.
KSU starter Owen Boerema allowed two unearned runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts over six innings to earn the victory.
Pena went 3-for-6 with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored to pace the Wildcats offensively. Goodwin and Rugely each drove in five runs.
The Penguins and Wildcats will continue their three-game series on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Softball: Team falls twice at Racer Classic
The Youngstown State softball team fell twice at the Racer Classic on Friday after dropping a 9-0 decision to Illinois State and falling 2-1 to Murray State at Racer Field.
The Penguins fall to 7-11 on the season.
In the opener against the Redbirds, Avrey Schumacher collected the Penguins’ lone hit.
Against Murray State, Hailey Niederkohr went 2-for-3 with an RBI while Conchetta Rinaldi and Hailey Roach each had a hit.
Devan Ryan struck out three and allowed just five hits in the loss.
Youngstown State plays Illinois State and Murray State again tomorrow at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.
Diving: Cody Thill and Kayla Wrasman compete in nationals
Cody Thill and Kayla Wrasman represented the Youngstown State men’s and women’s diving programs at the NCAA Zone C Diving Championships at the Counsilman-Billinglsey Aquatic Center on Friday.
Thill, a junior from Orland Park, Ill., competed in the men’s three-meter dive, delivering a score of 249.85 across six dives to place 24th out of 28 divers. He averaged a score of 41.64 per round.
Wrasman, a senior from Hartland, Wis., represented the Penguins in the women’s one-meter dive. She scored a six-dive total of 195.60 en route to a 48th-place finish out of 55 divers. Her average round score was 32.60.
Bowling: Team now sixth in national poll
The Youngstown State bowling team elevated one spot to sixth in the March release of the National Tenpin Coaches Association Top 25 Poll, the organization announced on Friday.
The Penguins were seventh in the December and February polls, but they were able to jump up one position as the 2022-23 regular season enters its final month. Sixth represents the highest in-season ranking in school history, and the only time Youngstown State has been higher was when it was fifth in the final poll of the 2020-21 season. That came right after the Penguins qualified for the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Youngstown State received 1,032 points in the poll, which put it solidly in the sixth position. Fellow Southland Bowling League member Stephen F. Austin was fifth with 1,112 points, and North Carolina A&T was seventh with 982 points.
The Penguins were ranked fourth in the first NCAA RPI release of the season on Feb. 16, and the NTCA’s Power Index Rating, which is based on the same metrics as the RPI, has the Penguins sixth as of March 5.
McKendree was listed first on 33 of the 37 submitted ballots and received 1,428 points in the poll. Vanderbilt received three first-place votes and is the top-ranked team from the Southland in the poll, and Nebraska is third and received the final first-place tally. Arkansas State is fourth, followed by Stephen F. Austin, YSU, North Carolina A&T, Maryville, Sam Houston and Maryland Eastern Shore in the top 10.
Seven Southland teams are ranked in the poll. In addition to Vanderbilt (second), Arkansas State (fourth), Stephen F. Austin (fifth), Youngstown State (sixth) and Sam Houston (ninth) in the top 10, Louisiana Tech is 12th, and Tulane is 22nd.
Youngstown State has a 71-33 overall record with one tournament remaining on its regular-season schedule. YSU’s winning percentage is .683, which is ahead of the 2019-20 team’s current school record of .653. That squad finished with an 81-43 record. YSU has five top-five finishes at tournaments this season.
Youngstown State’s final tournament of the regular season will be the Columbia 300 Music City Classic next weekend. Vanderbilt hosts the annual three-day tournament at the Smyrna Bowling Center in Smyrna, Tenn.