Morgantown, W. Va. – The Youngstown State men's and women's track and field team had a strong performance at the two-day Marty Pushkin Invitational hosted by West Virginia at the Mylan Park Track and Field Complex.
Winning events for Youngstown State were Jaden Kirkwood (shot put), Sage Vavro (1500m steeplechase), Kenzy Beckett (1500m steeplechase), Molly Radcliffe (hammer throw and discus), Olivia Mason (shot put), Coleson Kertesz (discus),
Molly Radcliffe led a 1-2-3 YSU finish in the hammer throw to open the year. Radcliffe won the event with a throw of 50.61m while Krista Perry was second at 47.74m and Lauren Sheehan was third with a best throw of 45.75m. She wrapped a solid opening meet with a victory in the discus with a best throw of 48.10m. Perry placed sixth in the discus with a throw of 34.20m.
Mason collected the first outdoor title of her career winning the shot put. She had a winning throw of 12.78m on her final attempt.
Kertesz led a first and third place finish in the discus. He won the event with a throw of 48.53m while Jaden Kirkwood was third at 47.07m in his outdoor debut. In the shot put, Kirkwood won his first collegiate event with a toss of 15.14m, which came on his final attempt. Placing second was Dominic Brown with a best throw of 15.01m while Kertesz was fourth at 14.50m.
In the running events, Grace Rhoades led three personal-best efforts for the women in the 5,000m. Rhoades finished third with a time of 18:07.42 to record a personal-best by 43 seconds. Molly Hopple was fourth at 18:21.05 while Lillian Katsaras was fifth at 18:24.38. Hopple's time was a personal-best by 20 seconds. Katsaras was making her outdoor debut for the Guins.
Vavro led a 1-2 finish in the men's 1500m steeplechase. He took first place with a time of 4:18.49 while Keegan Barnette was second clocking a 4:25.79. Beckett won the women's 1500m steeple with a time of 5:11.96. She won the race by an impressive 13.01 seconds.
In the javelin, India Bailey was third with a throw of 37.92m.
In the men's hammer throw, Kienan Donovan was fourth with a toss of 42.36m.
