Cross Country Teams Championship Quest Begins Saturday at Duquense Duals
8/28/2019 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
The Youngstown State men's and women's cross country team open the 2019 season on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at the Duquesne Duals at the Schenley Park Oval. Last season, the men's team won its second Horizon League championship in three years while the women's team made a big improvement and finished fifth in the league championship race.
Men's Outlook
With no seniors on the squad, the Youngstown State men's team is seeking back-to-back HorizonLeague titles and its third championship in four years. The Penguins, who were picked 15th in the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region preseason poll, return a pair of Second-Team All-Horizon League performers in juniors C.J. Schumacher andn Derek Basinger. Schumacher placed 11th at the league championship with a time of 25:29.6 while Basinger was 12th with a time of 25:30.2.
The Penguins also return five runners that all placed in the top 50 of the championship meet. Sophomore Chris Butler placed 24th in the league race with a time of 25:56.9 while sophomore Tyler Polman ran a 26:01.7 and finished 26th.
Sophomore Ethan Sparks placed 32nd while Cole Lovett was 44th and Matthew Mangus finished 49th.
At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Schumacher was 77th with a time of 32:37, which ranks tied for ninth all-time in school history in the 10K. Basinger's time of 32:47 ranks tied for 15th in school history and placed him 88th.
Newcomers to the program include Luke Baun, Cameron Binda, Ethan Dobler, John Gula, Scotty Hunter Joey Stafford, and Chase Stewart.
Women's Outlook
Last season, the women's program showed marked improvement by finishing fifth in the Horizon League with just one senior and a multitude of freshmen and sophomores on the roster. This year's edition will be young again with no seniors and five juniors and 10 freshmen and sophomores. This year's juniors include Natalie Fleming, Xena Maali, Raquel Markulen, Ashleigh Rowley, and Nicole Squatrito.
Squatrito was named the program's MVP after a 16th-place finish at the Horizon League meet. At the league championship, the women's squad turned in four of the top 15 6K times in school history. Squatrito's time of 22:16 is tied for sixth, Maggie Sebest's time of 22:38 is 11th, former Penguin Jennifer Muhlenkamp's time of 22:40 ranked 12th and Mackenzie Scott's time of 22:42 ranks 15th on the list.
At the Disney World Classic, which the Penguins won, Sebest paced the Penguins with a seventh-place finish with a time of 18:44.81 and sophomore Natalie Fleming recorded a time of 18:50.06 to finish in ninth place. Scott posted a time of 19:00.96 and placed 13th while Squatrito finished with a time of 19:03.18 for a 14th-place finish.
Newcomers include Morgan Cole, Gina Gabriele, Julia Getzky, Hannah Ryan, Ashley Ventimiglia, and Hailey Zalinsky.
The Penguins run at the Tommy Evans Invitational, Saturday, Sept. 7, in Akron, Ohio
