The Youngstown State track and field program concluded the December portion of their 2021-22 Indoor Track and Field campaign Friday afternoon at the Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS) with their inaugural YSU Collegiate Holiday Classic. A pair of school records and a total of 13 events victories highlight the first-ever running of the meet.
Lanese, in just her second collegiate appearance, cleared a 1.78m bar on her first attempt at the height and etched her name atop the school's all-time marks in the women's high jump. With the jump, Lanese uplifts former Penguin-standout Abby Jones' mark of 1.74m set at the YSU Collegiate Invitational in 2018.
In his YSU debut, Woods stepped into the blocks and clocked a YSU school record 6.63 60m dash. Woods' time overtakes former All-American and YSU alum Chad Zallow's mark of 6.69 posted in 2019.
The Penguins would go on to tally 13 event win on the meet (men's/women's 60m, women's 60m hurdles, women's 200m, men's mile, 4x400m relay, men's/women's high jump, men's/women's pole vault, men's/women's long jump, men's triple jump).
Running Highlights
Jahniya Bowers remains unbeaten in the 60m dash during the 2021 indoor season, clocking a time of 7.47 to win her second-consecutive victory in the event in as many weeks. Just behind, Kyndia Matlock earned the bronze with a time of 7.73.
Madison Murry earned her second-straight 60m hurdles victory on the 2021 season with a time of 8.72. Teammate Teddi Kinsey earned the runner-up finish with a time of 8.91.
With a time of 24.84, Suerethia Henderson took the crown in the women's 200m dash to earn her first event victory of the season.
Mikel Lagaras ran a personal-best time of 4:25.52 to give YSU the event victory in the men's mile run and the first event win of his career.
Ending the day on the track, the women's 4x400m team comprised of Teddi Kinsey, Logan Franczkowski, Mara Wilson and Liana Rodriguez were first to cross the finish with a time of 4:05.36 to finish first in front of three competing schools.
Field Event Highlights
Behind Lenese, YSU also owned the second and third-best jumps of the afternoon as Jessica Stever and Rachel Jeffries posted 1.59m marks.
In the men's event, Lonnie Harper took the crown with a 2.03m jump – a mark that falls just short of his personal best of 2.10m. The Penguins also posted the second and third-best jumps of the day, as Terron Taylor cleared 2.00m and Nathan Leskovac cleared 1.97m – a personal best.
Going 1, 2 in the women's pole vault, Katlyn Griffie led the charge and posted the best vault of the event at 3.79m to earn the event victory. Following, Erin Bogard nabbed a second-place finish with a vault of 3.69m. Rounding out the top-five, Emma Etwiler cleared 3.59m to finish fifth.
On the men's side, Elijah Nelson tabbed his first event victory of his YSU career with a 4.73m pole vault, Nelson would edge out 13 entries to claim the win.
Logging a pair of personal-best efforts and team-best jumps, Alexis Prater (5.71m) and Emily Bee (5.70m) took the top spots in the women's long jump event. Prater's and Bee's marks qualify as ninth and tenth-furthest in YSU history.
In just his second appearance as a Penguin, Luke Laubacher nabbed the event victory in the men's long jump, posting a personal-best 7.20m mark – a jump good for third-best in YSU history. Behind, Tye Hunt (7.18m) and Samuel Challis (7.00m) finished second and third, respectively.
Jakari Lomax claimed the event victory in the men's triple jump, edging out teammate and fellow jumper Daiquain Watson with a 14.49m mark on his first attempt. Just behind, Watson finished with the second-best jump of the day (14.33m).
Freshman-duo Nia Williams-Matthews and Stephanie Simon posted top-four finishes in the women's triple jump, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Williams-Matthews posted an 11.68m on her final attempt, while Simon recorded an 11.45m.
Lauren Sheehan acted as the best Penguins finisher in the women's shot put with a 4.09m throw and a fourth-place tally – a mark just shy of her 4.11m personal-best.
Up Next
Following just over a month of time-off, the Penguins will return to the competition schedule and compete at the Akron College Meet slated for Friday, Jan. 14, and the Penn State Nittany Lion Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 15. Start times are TBA.
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