In the first of a busy three-day stretch at pair of weekend meets, the Youngstown State track and field program totaled four event victories at Mount Union's John Homon Open while posting two impressive finishes at Tennessee's Tennessee Relays.
Dominic Perry, Lauren Dolak, Maggie Sebest and Alexis Prater earned event victories with their performances at Mount Union Stadium.
John Homon Open Highlights
On his third attempt, Perry posted a 16.71m (54' 10") throw during the men's shot put competition to oust the rest of the field and earn his second event victory of the outdoor season. Coleson Kertesz finished sixth with a 14.20m (46' 7¼") chuck.
Finishing just seconds apart, Dolak and Julia Magliocca clocked personal-best performances in the women's 1500m run. With a time of 4:46.27, Dolak recorded the fastest time of the event and earned her first event victory of the outdoor season. Just behind, Magliocca finished fourth with a time of 4:51.93.
Sebest crossed with the top time in the women's 3000m steeplechase, finishing with a time of 11:46.61. With the performance, Sebest logged her second-straight top-2 finish dating back to April 2, at the Slippery Rock Dave Labor Invitational.
Acting as the only YSU competitor in the event, Prater posted the furthest mark in the women's long jump with a personal-best 5.61m (18' 5") leap to record the event victory. In the men's competition, Andrew Frank recorded a third-place finish with a 6.60m (21' 8") jump.
Leading the way in the men's high jump competition, first-year Penguin Nathan Leskovac cleared a personal-best 2.03m (6' 8") bar on his last attempt at the height en route to a runner-up finish in the event. Leskovac's effort comes in tied with current teammate Terron Taylor for the seventh-best mark in school history. Behind Leskovac, Mason Stephens finished fifth with a 1.90m (6' 2¾") leap and Grant Moore came in seventh, clearing 1.90m (6' 2¾").
In the women's event, Camryn Jarrett acted as the Penguins best finisher as she cleared a personal-best 1.58m (5' 2¼") bar on her first attempt at the height to log the third-place finish on the day. Finishing in fourth, Rachel Jeffries cleared 1.55m (5' 1") on her second leap.
Ryan Laird clocked the meets second-quickest 400m dash time among 24 competitors, turning in a personal-best time of 49.23 for the runner-up finish. Also setting a new personal-best, fellow first-year Penguin William Delbaugh posted a time of 51.15 for 14th.
In the women's race, Logan Franczkowski was the fastest Penguins finisher with a personal-best time of 1:01.51 for 9th. Making her outdoor debut, Liana Rodriguez posted a time of 1:03.81 to come in 17th.
Adding hurdles to the track, Mara Wilson turned in a time of 1:07.56 to capture a runner-up finish in the women's 400m hurdles.
Setting a new personal-best mark with the eight-best throw in YSU history, Zach Gray recorded a runner-up finish in the men's discus throw with a 49.55m (162' 6") toss. Finishing right behind while also tabbing a new personal-best, Kertesz took third with a 48.03m (157' 7") throw.
Recording a 41.34m (135' 7") mark on her third attempt during the women's discus throw, Emily Wolf snagged a third-place finish in a field of 40 throwers. Teammate Krista Perry chucked the 18th-best throw of the event at 33.12m (108' 8").
Clocking the fastest preliminary time of the event at 12.13 seconds, Cyncere Cunningham stepped back into the blocks for Thursday's women's 100m dash event final and posted a time of 12.63 to tab a fifth-place finish overall.
Tennessee Relays Highlights
Upping his personal best by nearly two feet, Zach Gehm tossed a 52.76m (173' 1") mark in the men's hammer throw on his third and final attempt. Gehm's performance earned him a 20th-place finish in the event.
In the women's competition, Molly Radcliffe acted as the Penguins lone competitor in the event, going on to post the 28th-furthest throw with a 45.97m (150' 10") mark. Radcliffe's throw comes within two feet of her personal best.
Up Next
Friday's competition at the Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tenn., will begin at 2 p.m. with flights of the women's long jump. Running events will start at 2:35 p.m. with final heats of the men's 110m hurdles. Elsewhere, the John Homon Open will resume for final-day competition at 2 p.m. with the hammer throw and javelin throw events.
For complete coverage of Youngstown State track & field throughout the 2022 outdoor season, follow @YSUTrackFieldXC on Twitter.
