The Youngstown State men's and women's cross-country programs began postseason action at Shorewood Cross Country Course in Green Bay Wis., as they competed in the 2024 Horizon League Cross Country Championships on a brisk Saturday morning.

The men joined rare company as they won their third-straight Horizon League championship, the longest streak of consecutive titles in program history.

Hunter Christopher brought home some extra hardware, as he won his second-consecutive individual title in the men's 8K after running a time of 24:11.2. He becomes the first men's runner to win back-to-back individual Horizon League titles since Andy Baker of Butler won three-straight titles from 2007-2009. Ryan Meadows came across the finish line in fourth place after running a time of 24:31.5. This marked Meadows' third-straight top-five finish at the Horizon League Championships. Tobias Jones finished sixth after clocking a time of 24:34.9, Blaze Fichter finished right behind him in seventh place, finishing with a time of 24:38.2, and Thomas Caputo followed them with an 8^th-place finish with a time of 24:39.8.

Owen Brady was the next Penguin to cross the finish line, as his time of 25:05.7 was good enough for a 16^th-place finish. Connor Shingleton (25:20.7) and Sage Vavro (25:21.2) finished closely together, placing 19^th and 20^th, respectively. Riley Jackson crossed the line just over five seconds later, placing 23^rd with a time of 25:26.3. Beau Gorby finished in 33^rd place with a time of 25:56.0, Thomas Hunyadi placed 60^th as he clocked a time of 26:29.3, and Keegan Barnette rounded out the Penguin men as his time of 26:32.2 was good enough for a 63^rd-place finish.

The Penguin men won the championship with a team total of just 26 points, 48 points ahead of runner-up IU Indianapolis, who totaled 74 points overall. Oakland rounded out the top three with 86 points.

McKinley Fielding led the Penguin women in the 6K race, finishing runner-up with a time of 21:09.9. Caleigh Richards finished 8^th with a time of 21:46.3, and Jenna Razavi finished in 17^th place as her time of 22:18.0 marked three Penguin women that finished in the top 20. Kenzy Beckett's time of 23:07.2 placed her in 27^th, and Aiamyia Dudley's time of 23:40.6 was good enough for a 45^th-place finish to round out the scoring for the Penguin women.

Molly Hopple was the next Penguin to cross the finish line shortly after Dudley, as she finished 48^th with a time of 23:44.4, Megan Stafford's time of 23:52.6 gave her a finish in 53^rd place, Molly Yasnowski placed 75^th with a time of 24:10.4, and Caylee Mackey rounded out the Penguin women as she ran a time of 24:30.8, finishing 86^th overall.

The Penguin women finished 4^th overall as a team, collecting 98 points. Robert Morris won the title with a score of 67 points, Oakland finished runners-up as they had 74 points, and Purdue Fort Wayne rounded out the top three with 87 points.

Up Next:

After the completion of the conference championships, the focus will shift to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships, which are set to be hosted at Silver Creek Park Cross Country Course in nearby Norton, Ohio on Nov. 15.

For live updates and results throughout the 2024 season, follow @YSUTrackFieldXC on X.

Award Winners
 

• Men's Team Champion: Youngstown State
• Women's Team Champion: RMU
• Men's Coach of the Year: Brian Gorby, Youngstown State 
• Women's Coach of the Year: Bryan Delsite, RMU
• Men's Freshman of the Year: Luke Shappell, IU Indianapolis
• Women's Freshman of the Year: Caleigh Richards, Youngstown State

• Men's All-League First Team
  • Hunter Christopher, Youngstown State
  • Nat Weldemichael, Northern Kentucky
  • Nate Kaiser, IU Indianapolis
  • Ryan Meadows, Youngstown State
  • Noah Jahnke, Green Bay
  • Tobias Jones, Youngstown State
  • Blaze Fichter, Youngstown State

• Women's All-League First Team
  • Anelise Egge, Milwaukee
  • McKinley Fielding, Youngstown State
  • Julia Dill, RMU
  • Erin Hegarty, Oakland
  • Samantha Hennen, RMU
  • Riley Tate, Purdue Fort Wayne
  • Grace Nolan, Oakland

• Men's All-League Second Team
  • Thomas Caputo, Youngstown State
  • Yami Albrecht, Oakland
  • Colton O'Hara, Northern Kentucky
  • Josh Otten, Detroit Mercy
  • Wesley Hollowell, Oakland
  • Michael Hancock, Oakland
  • Grant Moon, IU Indianapolis

• Women's All-League Second Team
  • Caleigh Richards, Youngstown State
  • Ava Genovese, Purdue Fort Wayne
  • Rachel Helm, Milwaukee
  • Cailin Kinas, Milwaukee
  • Emma Johnson, Wright State
  • Franny Kabana, RMU
  • Ana Crangle, Cleveland State