The Youngstown State men's track and field team looks to capture its 10th consecutive league title and 11th overall as the 2025 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships are set to begin on Saturday at the Lutheran Health Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne, Ind.
The two-day conference meet will get underway on Saturday at 9 a.m. with the women's pentathlon. The opening events of the men's heptathlon will follow shortly thereafter at 9:30 a.m. The pole vault competitions begin first-day field events at Noon, with action on the track getting started at 4 p.m.
Action is set to resume on Sunday at 9 a.m. with the final events of the heptathlon competition. Second-day field events will commence with the high jump competition at 10:15 a.m., leading up to the running events beginning at 1 p.m. with the women's mile.
Last February, the Guins set a Horizon League record for points scored at a meet with 275 points eclipsing the previous-best total of 242.5 set back in 1985.
The Penguins return four event winners from last year's title-winning squad Hunter Christopher (5,000m), Ryan Meadows (3,000m), Sage Vavro (mile), Daimere Stephens-Stewart (200m) and Luke Laubacher (60m hurdles). Laubacher has won two straight 60m hurdle races while Christopher has won two straight 5,000m races.
Christopher won the 3,000m in 2023 while Meadows also won the 5,000m in 2021.
Event Lineup
60m - Jake Mcentyre, Micah Mitchell, Joseph Owusu-Ansah, Daimere Stephens-Stewart
200m - Luke Laubacher, Jake Mcentyre, Joseph Owusu-Ansah, Daimere Stephens-Stewart
400m - Michael Ballone
800m - William Hanchosky, Trenton Shutters
Mile - Ethan Cope, Connor Shingleton
3000m - Thomas Caputo, Hunter Christopher, Blaze Fichter, Tobias Jones, Ryan Meadows
5000m - Thomas Caputo, Hunter Christopher, Blaze Fichter, Tobias Jones, Ryan Meadows
60m Hurdles - Clancy Chrystal, Brandon Hutchinson, Luke Laubacher, Micah Mitchell
High Jump - Noah Crozier, Connor Durig, Nathan Leskovac, Mason Stephens, Zachary Webb
Long Jump - Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli, Andrew Frank, Brandon Hutchinson, Luke Laubacher, Daimere Stephens-Stewart
Triple Jump - Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli, Andrew Frank
Pole Vault - Dakota Keifer, Lukas Lang, Ian Quarles, Brandon Hutchinson
Shot Put - Dominic Brown, Coleson Kertesz, Jaden Kirkwood, Ryan Tetrick
Weight Throw - Dominic Brown, Coleson Kertesz, Ryan Tetrick
Heptathlon - Brandon Hutchinson
4x400m Relay - Michael Ballone, William Hanchosky, Jake Mcentyre, Trenton Shutters
DMR - Ethan Cope (1200m), Michael Ballone (400m), William Hanchosky (800m), Connor Shingleton (1600m)
Preview
60m – YSU has three of the top eight runners in the league led by Stephens-Stewart. Last year, he placed third in the event. Making their HL debuts are Jake Mcentryre and Joseph Owusu-Ansah. Mcentyre is seventh while Owusu-Ansah is eighth heading into the meet. Micah Mitchell will run in the event at the meet for the first time. YSU last won the event in 2022.
200m – YSU has four runners in the top eight in the league led by Stephens-Stewart. He is the defending champion in the event. Mcentyre sits in fifth place in the standing so far this year.
400m – Michael Ballone is YSU's long entrant in the race and will be making his HL debut. He is currently ranked sixth in the event. The only YSU winner of the event was Collin Harden in 2018.
800m – William Hanchosky and Trenton Shutters give the Guins two of the top seven runners in the event. Hanchosky was the runner up in the event in 2024 and placed seventh at the 2023 meet. Shutters redshirted last indoor season, but at Fort Wayne in 2023 was the Freshman Runner of the Meet after placing second in the event. Sean Peterson (five times) and Kurt Michaelis are the only two Guins to win the race.
Mile – Connor Shingleton and Ethan Cope are four and five in the event behind three runners from Oakland. Shingleton did not compete at the indoor meet a year ago while Cope is also making his YSU debut. Last year, Sage Vavro raced to the title in the event.
3000m – Hunter Christopher and Ryan Meadows rank first and second in the conference and each have won the event during their careers. Meadows won last year and was third in 2021. Christopher won the race in 2023, was second in 2022 and fourth in 2021. Jones was fifth in the mile at the 2023 league meet and only ran the 800m last year. Caputo ran the 3K at the 2023 league championships, but did not compete at the conference meet last year. Fichter was ninth in the 3,000m last year.
5000m – Christopher has won the race each of the past two years and is looking to become the first-ever three-time champ in the event. Meadows won the race in 2021 at PFW, was third last year and second in 2023. Caputo ran the race in 2023.
60m Hurdles – Luke Laubacher has dominated the event the past three years. A two-time winner, he spearheads a YSU unit that has four of the top five athletes in the league. He is bidding to become the fifth athlete to win three straight meet titles in the event. Micah Mitchell, who was third last year, enters the race ranked second. Newcomer Brandon Hutchinson is third and Clancy Chrystal will make his HL debut.
Triple Jump – YSU has three of the top eight jumpers led by newcomer Aaron Berardinelli. Just behind is Emmanuel Asabere who will also be making his Horizon League debut. Frank has not competed in the triple jump at the HL competition. Jakari Lomax won the previous five titles.
Long Jump – YSU stands to garner huge points in the event with the top three and four of the top five as the top jumpers. Laubacher leads the way and was third in the competition last year after finishing sixth each of the two previous campaigns. Stephens-Stewart was fifth a year ago while Frank was fifth in 2023. Asabere, Berardinelli and Hutchinson all make HL debuts. YSU has won four of the last seven long jump titles.
High Jump – An even stronger event for the Guins is the high jump. YSU has the top three athletes and five of the top six in the league. Mason Stephens leads the league and was sixth in the event last year. Webb and Crozier are tied for second. Webb finished fourth at last year's meet while Crozier is making his HL debut. Durig was fifth while Leskovac was also sixth a year ago. Leskovac's best finish was fourth in 2022. YSU has only won the event four times, most recently in 2022.
Pole Vault – YSU has three of top four athletes in the conference led by Lukas Lang. Lang was fourth at the league meet last year. Quarles is third in the event while Keifer is fourth. Both athletes and Hutchinson are making their league meet debuts. YSU has won the event in seven straight years.
Shot Put – YSU ranks second, third and fourth in the league entering the meet. Leading the way is freshman Jaden Kirkwood while Ryan Tetrick is third and Coleson Kertesz sits fourth. Kertesz was fifth in the shot last year while Tetrick was eighth. Kirkwood and Dominic Brown are making their league meet debuts. YSU has won four of the last five shot put titles.
Weight Throw – The Guins have two of the top four in the league in the event. Tetrick ranks second while Dominic Brown is fourth. Kertesz was eighth last year while Tetrick was 11th.
Heptathlon – Hutchinson will represent the Guins in the event. YSU has never won the event.
DMR - YSU won the event in 2021 and 2022 and finished second just 0.14 behind PFW last year.
4x400m - The Guins have yet to win the event at the league meet. Last year, YSU was second just a second back of Milwaukee.
For news and updates throughout the 2025 Horizon League Indoor Championships, follow @YSUTrackFieldXC on X and Instagram.
