Jarrod Davis helped lay the foundation for a successful run of Youngstown State throwers that begin during his career with the Penguins in the mid-2000’s.
While at YSU, Davis set the indoor record in the weight throw and the shot put. His indoor mark still ranks second (and lasted for more than eight years) while his shot put best is now fifth in school history. In outdoor throwing events, he set the hammer throw standard, had the second-best discus attempt and javelin throw upon the conclusion of his career. His hammer mark still ranks third while his discus is fifth and javelin is sixth best all time.
His final campaign in 2006 was his most impressive. Davis qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regionals and set a school-record in the hammer throw. That mark was a throw of 191-2 and topped his old school mark by more than 21 feet. That throw came at his final Horizon League meet in which he won the event by a whopping 25 feet. Additionally he was third in the discus and sixth in the shot put. At the NCAA Regional meet he finished 19th with a throw of 177-0.
At the indoor meet he was named the HL’s Outstanding Field Performer. Davis won the weight throw with a HL-record and school-record toss of 62-4.5 and was second in the shot put with a heave of 53-11.25.
He capped off his impressive 2006 performance by being named just the fourth first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in school history. Davis is the first, and is still the only, member of the YSU Track and Field team to be named first-team Academic All-American.
Davis sat out the 2004-05 campaign setting the stage for a big senior campaign a year later.
At the 2004 Horizon League Championships, Davis had four top-four finishes. He placed second in the discus (155-10), second in the hammer throw (169-11), third in the javelin (171-6) and fourth in the shot put (46-11.5). His hammer throw performance set a then-YSU record in the event. During the indoor meet he was second in the shot put with a throw 49-7.25.
At the outdoor meet in 2003, Davis again had four top-five finishes in the throwing events. He saved his season-best efforts for the league meet when he finished third in the shot put (45-7.25), fourth in the hammer throw (147-09) and fifth in the javelin (152-08) and discus (150). At the indoor meet he was third in the weight throw with a toss of 49-10.5 and sixth in the shot put with a throw of 44-7. The Penguins won the 2003 men’s indoor Horizon League Championship which was the first title since joining the conference.
During his freshman season he was seventh in the shot put, eighth in the discus and ninth in the hammer throw at the outdoor league meet. During the indoor championships he was sixth in both the weight throw and the shot put.
A native of Canton, Ohio, he set the East Canton High School record in the discus during his scholastic career. He finished fifth in discus at the state meet and was the region and district champion in the event. A 12-time letterwinner, he also earned four letters in both football and basketball.
He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Information Systems from YSU. Davis is currently a software developer for Barrett Values Centre.
Jarrod and his wife Lindsay, also a former YSU thrower, reside in Bluffton, S.C. They have two children, Avery and Carter.
