The Youngstown State men's and women's track and field teams took day one leads on the strength of solid efforts in the 10,000m run on Friday night at the Covelli Sports Complex.
The women are in first place with 33 points to lead Purdue Fort Wayne (20) and Cleveland State (16). The men have 28 points to hold a narrow lead over Milwaukee and PFW who are both tied for second while NKU is fourth with 20 points.
Hunter Christopher repeated as the Horizon League Champion in the 10,000m with a meet record and school record time of 29:27.97 on a perfect night for distance racing. Ryan Meadows took third with a time of 29:36.29 and Tobias Jones came in seventh.
In the discus, Coleson Kertesz took runner up honors with a throw of 49.00m which came on his first attempt of the competition.
In the 1500m prelims, Connor Shingleton, Sage Vavro and Riley Jackson all advanced to the finals on Sunday.
The women had two second-place finishes and a pair of third-place finishes during the opening day of the Championships.
In the 10,000m, McKinley Fielding took second place with a time of 35:42.39 while Caleigh Richards placed third at 35:50.31. Grace Rhoades produced a seventh-place finish as well.
In the discus, Krista Perry took second with a throw of 41.00m. Perry was in ninth place after the first three throws and was in fifth before her final attempt pushed her up the standings. Molly Radcliffe finished sixth with a throw of 39.53m.
In the javelin, India Bailey had a third-place effort with a throw of 41.30m. Bailey was also ninth following the opening round before jumping up to second on her fifth attempt.
In the 1500m, YSU advanced three runners to Sunday's final in Fielding, Kenzy Beckett and Carly Hall.
Emily Bee had a solid first day in the heptathlon and is in second place with 3,137 points, just 61 behind Milwaukee's Anna Szepieniec. Bee was second in the 200m, 100m hurdles and high jump on Friday. The final three events get underway Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m.
Finals on Saturday include, heptathlon, women's shot put, women's long jump, women's pole vault, men's shot put, men's long jump and steeplechase. ESPN+ will provide coverage of the running events starting at 3:55 p.m.
Team Scores:
Women:
1. Youngstown State – 33
2. Purdue Fort Wayne – 20
3. Cleveland State – 16
T4. RMU – 11
T4. Oakland – 11
6. Northern Kentucky – 10
T7. Milwaukee - 8
T7. Detroit Mercy – 8
Men:
1. Youngstown State - 28
T2. Purdue Fort Wayne – 25
T2. Milwaukee – 25
4. Northern Kentucky – 20
5. Wright State – 6
T6. Oakland – 5
T6. IU Indianapolis – 5
8. Detroit Mercy – 3Â
