Penguins Bolster Pole Vault Lineup With Five Additions
7/3/2023 11:31:00 AM | Track and Field
The Youngstown State men's and women's track and field teams have added five pole vaulters for the 2023-24 campaign, Pole Vault Coach Rick Penniman announced on Monday.
On the men's side, YSU has signed Lukas Lang (Lancaster, Ohio), Dakota Keifer (Bowling Green, Ohio), Karl Kain (St. Clairsville, Ohio) and Clemson transfer Jack Vecellio (South Deerfield, Mich.) while Kaitlyn Eger (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is set to join the women's program.
The Penguins are coming off a spectacular 2023 season in the event. During the indoor campaign, Dorian Chaigneau and Wyatt Lefker earned second-team All-America honors at the NCAA Championships. At the outdoor campaign, YSU was one of two schools to be represented in the women's and men's pole vault at the NCAA meet. Chaigneau claimed second-team All-America honors while Erin Bogard was an honorable-mention All-American.
Lukas Lang (Lancaster High School)
Top mark of 4.92m outdoors and 4.87m indoors…finished third at the 2023 Ohio Division I State Track and Field Championship (16 feet)…won the region meet with a mark of 16-2 and was second at the district meet with a clearance of 15-8…also placed second at the Ohio Capital Conference meet…placed eighth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals in Philadelphia in June…took first place at the USATF National Youth Outdoor Championships in Geneva, Ohio…finished second at the 2023 OATCCC Division I indoor state meet (15-9)…as a junior, placed fourth at the 2022 OHSAA Outdoor State Championship (14-10).
Penniman: "Great to have a kid with such a high ceiling and someone who is already on the cusp of a regional mark right out of high school."
Dakota Keifer (Otsego High School)
Top mark of 4.87m outdoors and 4.64m indoors…won the 2023 Ohio Division II State Track and Field Championship (16 feet)…won the district meet with a clearance of 14-6 and placed second at regionals with a mark of 15-0…finished third at the 2023 OATCC D2/D3 Indoor State Championships with a mark of 14-6…was 15th at the New Balance National Indoors with a personal-best 15-3…as a junior, was fourth in the pole vault at the Division II OHSAA State meet…won the Northern Buckeye Conference pole vault title…was eighth at the Division II meet as a sophomore…also competed in the 100m and 200m dashes…posted a top time of 11.11 seconds in the 100m dash.
Penniman: "Dakota is our fastest vaulter out of high school and I can't wait to watch that speed translate into some big marks next year."
Karl Kain (St. Clairsville High School)
Top mark of 4.47m outdoors and 4.34m indoors…placed fifth at the 2023 Ohio Division II State Track and Field Championships (14-8)…won the district and regional championships in the pole vault prior the state meet…won the OVAC Championship with a mark of 14-2…placed fifth at the OATCCC D2/D3 Indoor State Championships with a mark of 14-3…also competed in the New Balance Nationals outdoors (sixth) and indoors (fourth)…placed 15th at the 2022 Division II State Championships…won the OVAC title and the district title while placing second in the regionals as a junior…was 15th at the D2/D3 OATCCC Indoor State meet.
Penniman "Karl is one of the most determined kids I've talked to. He's excited for the opportunity to compete at this level and I look forward to him making an immediate impact."
Jack Vecellio (Clemson/Frontier High School)
Clemson: Competed for the Tigers during the indoor season…placed ninth at the ACC Championships with a personal-best mark of 5.08m…earned event wins at the Clemson Opener Invitational and the Doc Hale VT Meet.
Frontier: Won the MIAA Division 6 Championship as senior with a mark of 16-6…at the MIAA Meet of Champions, cleared the bar at 17-1.5…as a junior, won the MIAA All-State Championship…as a sophomore, was sixth in the pole vault at the MIAA All-State outdoor meet.
Kaitlyn Eger (West Allegheny High School)
Won the PIAA District 7 Championship as a senior…has top marks of 3.65m both indoors and outdoors…placed seventh at the 2023 PTFCA Indoor State Meet…as a junior, was fifth at the District 7 meet and finished 15th at the PIAA AAA State Championships…was ninth at the 2022 PFTCA Indoor State Championships…also competed in the hurdles.
Penniman: "One of our fastest vaulters coming out of high school. She'll be a big piece to our program over the next four years."
