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Feb. 27, 2004
Penguins to Compete for League Championship This
Weekend
The Youngstown State men's and women's track and
field teams will compete in the 2004
Horizon League Men's and Women's
Indoor Track and Field Championships
in Greencastle, Ind. on the DePauw
University campus Saturday and
Sunday .
The men's squad will look to defend their 2003 title while
the women will look to capture their
first indoor title since 1996.
"I’m expecting some big things
from these folks," head coach Brian
Gorby said. "We have a great
opportunity ahead of us for both
teams."
"We've had nearly 30 personal-bests in the past two weeks.
That's a huge confidence booster and
we can take it up one more notch
this weekend."
Gorby said that the depth on both teams could be the deciding
factor as nearly every event will be
filled.
The women's squad is strong throughout, but especially
exceptional in the sprints and
hurdles. Danielle Bolt has the
fastest incoming time in the
60-meter dash with a school-record
time of 7.62 seconds. Jeanna
Cunningham is ranked second in the
60 behind Bolt, but the duo
exchanges places in the 200 as
Cunningham holds the top spot.
Aaliyah Gillespie set the Horizon
League record in the 60-meter
hurdles last season with a time of
8.75 and is ranked first in the same
event this season. Leslie
Johnson and Alex Casi are ranked
second and fourth, respectively, in
the 400.
Emily Schnitkey, the YSU record-holder in the mile, will team
up with Lisa Davies and Lindsay
Wojciak to lead the distance group.
Schnitkey is ranked second in the
mile, fourth in the 800 and seventh
in the 3,000 while Davies holds the
second-fastest time in the 3,000 and
5,000. Davies, the Horizon
League Newcomer of the Year in cross
country, also holds the third spot
in the mile. Wojciak is ranked
third in the 1,000 and seventh in
the 800.
YSU record-holder Laura Schatz will enter the meet ranked
second in the high jump with a mark
of 5 feet, 7 inches to head the
field events. Casi holds the
third-best performance in the long
jump while Nikki Hooper sits fourth
in the triple jump and fifth in the
long jump. In the throws, Amy
Hill holds the second-best throw in
the shot put while Kim Lammers and
Lindsey Hill rank third and fourth
in the event. Amy Hill also
ranks sixth in the weight throw
while Katy Williams ranks seventh.
The men's success will rest heavily in the sprinting events.
Six of the top 10 incoming times in
the 60-meter dash and four of the
top 10 in the 200 have been run by
YSU runners. Leading the way
is senior Sherod Holmes, who has the
fastest incoming time at 6.97 in the
60-meter dash. Last year,
Holmes finished second in the 60 by
just .01 seconds. Damian
Wright and Jeremiah Wright follow in
the fourth and fifth spots while
Dorian Chenault, Chris Goffer and
Darius Peterson are ranked seventh,
eighth and ninth. Papis Joh is
top in the league in the 200 while
Scott Weiser is ranked fourth.
Ryan Strzalka has the ninth-fastest
incoming time and Holmes holds the
tenth. Joh and Weiser rank
second and third in the 400.
Adam Lewis and Tyler Morton are ranked second and third in
the 60 hurdles with identical times
of 8.51 while Chris Goffer is ranked
fifth.
In the distance events, Chris Hine is ranked fifth in the
1,000 while Nick Buzek holds the
ninth-fastest time in the 3,000 and
5,000. Butler is very deep in
the distance events as the Bulldogs
claim the top spot in the 800, the
top three spots in the 5,000, the
top four in the mile, the top six in
the 3,000.
Guiding the men in the field events is former Athlete of the
Week Jarrod Davis. Davis is
the YSU record-holder in the weight
throw and has the top mark going
into the league meet with 54-10 1/4.
Davis is also ranked third in the
shot put. Joe Bruderly is
ranked fifth in the shot put and
eighth in the weight throw while
Drew Weizer is ranked seventh in
both events. Also in the
field, T.J. Peterson is ranked
second in the long jump and Derek
Riker ranks second in the pole
vault. Justin Reams holds the
fourth-best jump in the triple jump. |
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