Jan. 30, 2010 | Results

Merrill Sweeps Throws Events at Tom Wright Classic

Bowling Green, Ohio -- Youngstown State senior thrower Aaron Merrill had a dominating performance in the throws events on Saturday at the Tom Wright Classic as he captured first-place finishes in the weight throw and shot put 

Merrill was victorious in the weight throw with a toss of 16.63m and won the shot put with a heave of 17.22m.

The Penguins as a team were also impressive in the weight throw as sophomore Caleb Schwann took second (15.56m), junior Jeremiah Folger claimed third (15.50m), and senior Sam Cassano finished fifth (14.67m).

In addition to Merrill's victory in the shot put, freshman John Seaver finished third (14.96m) and junior John Pallini took fourth (14.89m).

Junior Bryin Ehrhardt had a first-place finish in the high jump by clearing a mark of 2.01m. Fellow junior Joe Copploe finished first in the 3,000m with a time of 9:33.36 and fifth in the mile (4:38.22).

Scott Denham, a junior, had second-place finishes in both the 800m (1:59.85) and mile (4:30.57). Jake Dialesandro claimed second in 5,000m with a time of 15:44.67. Freshman Aron Korir finished third in the 800m with a time of 2:03.26.

Freshmen Michael Davis and Tarelle Irwin carried over their momentum from a week ago with solid performances in the 60m dash and 200m dash. Davis finished second in the 60m dash (7.05) and fourth in the 200m (22.92), while Irwin claimed third in both the 60m dash (7.12) and 200m dash (22.90).

For the women, freshmen Symona Gregory and Kenya Garner had success in sprint events. Gregory ran a time of 7.98 to win the 60m dash and took fifth in the 200m dash with a time of 26.87. Gregory had a pair of second-place finishes, running a time of 8.00 in the 60m dash and 26.19 in the 200m dash.

Junior Breanne Romeo and freshman Nicole Pachol each had a third-place finish at the meet. Romeo finished the 200m dash in 26.40, while Pachol ran a time of 1:03.13 in the 400m. The two along with junior Lisa Lee and freshman Lea Byers combined for a second-place finish in the 4x400m relay (4:10.05).

In throws events, junior Marissa Opper led the charge with a first-place distance of 15.46m in the weight throw. Sophomore Kaitlyn Griffith finished the event in third with a personal-best toss of 15.13m.

Griffith was also the Penguins top-finisher in the shot put, finishing second with a distance of 12.23m. Freshman Alison Roth finished one spot behind in third with a throw of 11.99m.

In the 60m hurdles, sophomore Nicole Rymer finished in second with a time of 9.30, while fellow sophomore ran a time of 9.38 to claim fourth.

The Penguins track and field team will be split up next Friday and Saturday as they are slated to compete in both the Notre Dame Meyo Invitaional in South Bend and the New Balance Armory Invitational in New York City.