Cross Country Teams Set For 2019 NCAA Great Lakes Regional Friday
11/14/2019 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
After a pair of impressive finishes at the 2019 Horizon League Championships, the Youngstown State men's and women's cross country teams are set for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Friday, Nov. 15, at 12:30 p.m. in Madison, Wis.
At the league championships, the women's team placed second with three top-10 finishes and five runners placing in the top 20. Freshman Morgan Cole, who was named the Female Freshman of the Year and All-Horizon League First Team, placed sixth in the race. All-Horizon League First-Team performer junior Nicole Squatrito's finished seventh in the race while junior Natalie Fleming placed eighth, earned second-team all-league honors.
Sophomore Maggie Sebest was finished 15th and Ashleigh Rowley was 20th.
On the men's side, junior Tyler Polman was named to the All-Horizon League First-Team after his seventh-place while sophomore Chris Butler finished ninth and earned second-team all-league honors.
Derek Basinger placed 15th and Sean Peterson finished 18th.
Men Post Wins at Canisius, Disney
The Youngstown State men's program has posted wins in back-to-back races winning at the Disney World Classic on Oct. 12 and the Canisius Alumni Open on Oct. 19. Junior Tyler Polman posted a personal-best time of 25:11.9 to win the individual title and lead the Penguins to the team championship at the Canisius Alumni Open. Polman's time now ranks seventh in school history in the 8K. The Penguins recorded the top three finishers and five of the top six en route to the team crown. At Disney, the men's team recorded the 8K's top five six runners, seven of the top eight and eight of the top 11, and won the event by 73 points. Chris Butler won the event with a time of 25:22.1 while Tyler Polman was second at 25:23.1 and Derek Basinger finished third with a time of 25:30.0. Matthew Mangus came in fourth with a time fo 26:02.6, Ethan Sparks was fifth and posted a time of 26:22.5 and Cole Lovett turned in a time of 26:52.3.
Women's Team Wins at Disney, Impresses at Penn State
For the second straight year, the women's team won at the Disney World Classic. Freshman Morgan Cole won the event with a time of 18:15.2 as the Penguins posted the top five finishers. Natalie Fleming ran an 18:30.7 to place second, junior Nicole Squatrito posted a time of 18:33.7 to finish third and Ashleigh Rowley placed fourth with a time of 18:35.0. Sophomore Maggie Sebest was fifth with a time of 18:40.5 while Mackenzie Scott placed 10th with a time of 19:04.8. At Penn State, five Youngstown State runners recorded top 11 performances in the 6K in program history. Squatrito led the charge for a 50th-place finish with a time of 21:57.2, which now ranks sixth all-time, while Cole ran a 21:59.3, which ranks seventh all-time. Squatrito and Cole also became just the sixth and seventh runners, respectively, in school history to record a sub-22 time in the 6K. Rowley's time of 22:24.5 now ranks ninth all-time while Fleming's time of 22:28.1 ranks 10th and Sebest time of 22:29.0 is 11th.
Cross Country Tidbits
- Women's team has five athletes currently ranked top 11 times in YSU 6,000-meters in school history and three ranking in the top 15 in the 5,000-meters.
- YSU men's team has two runners ranked in the top 11 in the 8,000-meters.
- The men's team has won event titles in consecutive weeks at the Disney World Classic and the Canisius Alumni Open, while the women's team defending its crown with a win at Disney.
