RALEIGH, North Carolina – Earning six top-10 finishes during Saturday's action from the Paul Derr Track & Field Facility, the Youngstown State track and field program wrapped up a successful weekend at the North Carolina State Raleigh Relays.
In his second event of the afternoon, senior Collin Harden highlighted the Penguins' running efforts by punched a qualifying ticket to the first round of the NCAA Track & Field Championships in the men's 400-meter hurdles final, clocking a 51.68 mark in the event. During the 2019 outdoor season, Collin's time would have occupied the 28th-slot in the top-32 East Region times.
Harden earned a sixth-place finish in the final heat of the men's 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.14 in his first race of the day.
Running Highlights
In the first event of the day on the track, the 4x100m relay team comprised of Kyndia Matlock, Jahniya Bowers, Teneisha Myers and Jaliyah Elliott posted the third-fastest 4x100m relay race (45.88) in YSU history en route to posting the fastest time of the section. The group would go onto grab sixth place in the event, outrunning seven other competitors.
Sophomore Lauren Dolak led YSU finishers in the women's 800-meter run, posting a 2:16.94 mark. Teammate Aiamyia Dudley finished just two places behind, running a 2:18.91.
Following a record-breaking performance during Friday's action, senior Sean Peterson logged another impressive outing in his second event of the meet – the men's 800-meter run. Peterson clocked a 1:51.67 in the event which was third-fastest in the section, and would go onto earn a top-25 finish in the event (22st) while finishing ahead of 43 entries.
Taking up two lanes on the track in the women's 100-meter dash final, Jahniya Bowers (11.81) and Jaliyah Elliott (11.87) posted notable times on their way to sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively.
In her first career outdoor outing, freshman Teddi Kinsey (1:04.56) clocked the eighth-fastest 400-meter hurdles race in program history during Saturday's final. She went on to earn a 21st-place finish in the event. Fellow-Penguin Mara Wilson finishes two spots behind, posting a 1:06.25.
In their second appearance of the day, Elliott (24.35) and Bowers (24.43) went 21, 22 in the women's 200-meter final, with Bowers setting a new outdoor personal-best in the event. Just behind, Myers (24.60) logged a 28th-place finish, Matlock (24.99) a 39th-place finish and Logan Franczkowsi (25.73) a 48th-place finish.
On the men's side, Christian Ford (21.69) and Tobias Hayes (21.76) logged a pair of personal-bests in the 200-meter dash while posting top-20 finishes.
Field Highlights
Daiquain Watson tallied the 53rd-best long jump in the country, posting a 7.18-meter mark en route to placing fourth in the event. The jump was just shy of his third-best mark in school history of 7.20m. Sophomore Tye Hunt posted a 6.40-meter jump to finish twelfth overall.
A trio of underclassmen represented the Penguins' effort in the women's long jump final with Stephanie Simon leading the way with a 5.28-meter mark to finish 14th. Nia Williams-Matthews (5.22m) and Alexis Prater (5.16m) snagged the 16th and 17th positions.
Freshmen Emily Wolf (42.42m) and Lauren Sheehan (38.33m) continued their impressive outdoor Penguins' debut, earning top-30 finishes in the women's hammer throw.
Up Next
The Penguins are back in action next weekend when they host the one-day Northeast Ohio Quad on Friday, April 2, beginning with the men's javelin throw at 10 a.m. from Farmers National Bank Field.
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