The Youngstown State women's track and field team won their ninth consecutive Horizon League Outdoor title with a strong finish on the final day of the Championship meet at the Covelli Sports Complex in Youngstown.
Jahniya Bowers won the 100m and 200m dashes, Morgan Cole won the 5,000m, Nia Williams-Matthews won the triple jump and the 4x100m relay team picked up a tone-setting win to open the day as the Penguins fought off rival Milwaukee to win the crown on their home turf.
YSU finished with 203.25 points while the Panthers were second with 189.25 points and Oakland took third at 136. The title was the 15th overall for the Guins which is the Horizon League record. YSU has won 14 of the last 18 titles dating back to 2004. This was the sixth time the Penguins claimed the championship trophy on home soil. It is the seventh time YSU eclipsed the 200-point mark as well at the league competition.
To open the day on Sunday, the Penguins set a Horizon League record in the 4x100m relay with a time of 45.36 seconds. Running the record-breaking time was Nia Grose, Bowers, Cyncere Cunningham and Kyndia Matlock.
Bowers and Matlock kept the momentum going with strong performances in the sprint races.
In the 200m, Bowers won her second career title, and first since 2021, running a time of 23.84 seconds. Matlock clocked a time of 24.21 seconds to finish in third place. In the 100m, the duo also went gold and bronze in the same order. Bowers ran away with her second title in the event with a time of 11.53 seconds while Matlock placed third at 11.84 seconds.
In the triple jump, the Guins earned a key 1-2 finish. Winning her first career Horizon League Outdoor title was Nia Williams-Matthews. Williams-Matthews had a winning mark of 12.17m narrowly outdistancing teammate Esther Solarin who was second at 12.15m. YSU used those 18 points to nearly clinch the team title.
Soon after the conclusion of the triple jump, Cole sealed the team victory with her second straight Horizon League title in the 5,000m. She posted a winning time of 17:23.74 to best Oakland's Grace Nolan by four seconds.
Placing second in the high jump in her final Horizon League Outdoor event was Olivia Jones. Jones cleared a height of 1.68m to cap off a meet that featured three second-place performances.
In the 800m, Malena Cybak placed fifth with a time of 2:16.88 while Liana Rodriguez was sixth in the 400m clocking a time of 57.03 seconds.
2023 #HLTF Outdoor Specialty Awards
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Championship Outstanding Performer, Running – Jahniya Bowers, Youngstown State
Championship Outstanding Performer, Field – Molly Radcliffe, Youngstown State
Freshman of the Year, Running – Olivia Kennedy, Northern Kentucky
Freshman of the Year, Field – Modupe Awosanya, IUPUI
Co-Coach of the Year – Andrew Basler, Milwaukee & Brian Gorby, Youngstown State
Women's Team Scores
1. Youngstown State – 203.25
2. Milwaukee – 189.25
3. Oakland - 136
4. Purdue Fort Wayne – 96.25
5. Northern Kentucky - 48
6. RMU - 42
7. Detroit Mercy – 37.25
8. IUPUI - 37
9. Wright State – 23
10. Cleveland State - 7
