The Youngstown State men's and women's track and field teams picked up four event victories in six final events on the opening day of the Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Youngstown.
Winning events were Zach Gehm (discus), Weston McLain (javelin), Morgan Cole (10,000m) and Addi Watts (javelin).
In the team standings, the women have opened up a 51-29 advantage over Milwaukee while in the men's standings, YSU has a 48-21 lead on the Panthers.
Men's Highlights
Gehm's second straight title in the discus was his second straight in the event. He led a 1-3-4-6 YSU finish in the event. Gehm had a winning throw of 57.09m for his winning mark. Coleson Kertesz placed third with a throw of 51.24m while Zach Gray was fourth at 51.00m and Ryan Henry finished sixth with a toss of 51.00m.
In the javelin, McLain's victory marked the sixth consecutive year that a Penguin was on top of the podium in the event. He had a winning throw of 65.07m to earn his first Horizon League title after placing third a year ago. Two-time champion Noah Drudy earned a third-place finish with a throw of 58.45m.
In the 10,000m run to conclude the evening Ryan Meadows finished a close second place in a fantastic race. Meadows ran a time of 30:05.17 in the race of the night. Meadows and IUPUI's Nate Kaiser were neck-and-neck in the final 100 meters but Kaiser won with a last-ditch dive at the finish line to take the race by just 0.08 seconds.
In the 1500m, Tyler Clark had the top qualifying time of 4:00.36 in the event while Ty Coon had the fourth-fastest finish with a time of 4:01.27 and Riley Jackson was seventh at 4:02.03.
Women's Highlights
In the 10,000m to conclude the evening, Cole brought home her second straight title in the event. She ran a time of 35:32.56 to win the event by taking first just ahead of Oakland's Grace Nolan. Finishing in fifth place was Mackenzie Scott who ran a time of 36:45.49.
The women won their sixth straight javelin title and eight in nine years as first-year Addi Watts claimed the victory. Watts had a best throw of 42.75m to take her first career title. Three-time winner Olivia Jones placed second in the event with a throw of 39.67m while first-year Guin Valeria Young was fourth in her debut appearance with an effort of 37.11m. YSU was able to pick up 23 points with three of the top four finishers.
In the discus, the Guins picked up second and third-place finishes in the event. Molly Radcliffe placed second with a throw of 44.67m while Krista Perry took third with an effort of 42.75m.
In the 1500m, Malena Cybak and Carly Hall both advanced to the Sunday's finals in the event. Hall had a time of 4:47.93 while Cybak had a 4:47.97.
