The Youngstown State men's track and field team looks to capture its 11th consecutive league title and 12th overall as the 2026 Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships are set to begin on Saturday at the WATTS in Youngstown.
The two-day conference meet will get underway on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with the opening events of the heptathlon. The pole vault and long jump competitions begin first-day field events at Noon, with action on the track getting started at 3 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 9:15 a.m., leading up to the running events beginning at 1 p.m. with the mile.
Last time at home in 2024, the Guins set a Horizon League record for points scored at a meet with 275 points eclipsing the previous-best total of 242.5 that was set back in 1985. Last year in Fort Wayne, YSU won by more than 100 points ahead of Milwaukee (227.5-127)
The only returning HL event winner for the Guins from a year ago is Lukas Lang who took first in the pole vault. Of the 32 YSU athletes competing, 15 will be making their HL Indoor Championships debuts.
Event Lineup
60m – Jake Mcentyre, Joseph Owusu-Ansah, Caedeon Trotter
200m – Teziah Howard, Jake Mcentyre, Micah Mitchell, Joseph Owusu-Ansah, Shamir Rose, Caedeon Trotter
400m – Teziah Howard, Shamir Rose
800m - Trenton Shutters
Mile – Ethan Cope, Connor Shingleton
3,000m – Owen Brady, Patrick Burgos, Ethan Cope, Brock Farris, Blaze Fichter, Josh Jones, Connor Shingleton
5,000m – Owen Brady, Patrick Burgos, Blaze Fichter, Beau Gorby
60m Hurdles – Clancy Chrystal, Brandon Hutchinson, Garrett Laubacher, Micah Mitchell
DMR – Ethan Cope (1,600m), Josh Jones (1200m), Brock Farris (800m), Teziah Howard (400m), Trenton Shutters (ALT), Beau Gorby (ALT), Garrett Laubacher (ALT)
4x400m – Connor Durig, Teziah Howard, Garrett Laubacher (ALT), Jake Mcentyre (ALT), Shamir Rose, Trenton Shutters, Caedeon Trotter (ALT)
High Jump – Isaiah Barker, Noah Crozier, Connor Durig
Long Jump – Emmanuel Asabere, Isaiah Barker, Aaron Berardinelli, Brayden Green, Brandon Hutchinson
Triple Jump – Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli, Brayden Green
Weight Throw – Dominic Brown, Levi Glassmeyer, Jameire Robinson, Ryan Tetrick
Shot Put – Dominic Brown, Jaden Kirkwood, Ryan Tetrick
Pole Vault – Lukas Lang, Jak Rovan
Heptathlon - Brandon Hutchinson, Karl Kain
Events Preview
60m – YSU has three of the top four runners in the league led by Owusu-Ansah (first), while Trotter (second) and Mcentyre (fourth) are just behind. YSU last won the event in 2022 and owns 13 overall titles in the event since 2002.
200m – YSU has five of the top six runners in the conference. Owusu-Ansah has had a breakout year in the 200m with time of 21.26 seconds. Trotter is second, Mcentyre is fourth, Rose is fifth and Howard is sixth. YSU has won the race once since 2021. The Guins own seven titles since 2013 by six different runners.
400m – YSU has three of the top seven runners, but only Howard (fourth) and Rose (seventh) will compete. The only YSU winners of the event are Collin Harden in 2018 and Harry Barton in 2024.
800m – Shutters is a two-time runner-up in the event with both of those races being held in Fort Wayne. Last year, Shutters led right up to the final few meters before being caught. He ranks third in the conference this season as three runners are under 1:51. Sean Peterson (five times) and Kurt Michaelis are the only two Guins to win the race.
Mile – Connor Shingleton ranks second in the league in the event. Ethan Cope will also be in action for the Guins. The Penguin pair was 11th and 12th a year ago in Fort Wayne. Four Penguins have won the event and YSU has been on top of the podium in four of the last six meets.
3000m – Seven of the top 14 runners in the event heading into the league meet are Penguins. Leading the way are Patrick Burgos (third) and Connor Shingleton (fourth). Blaze Fichter is the only runner who competed in the 3,000m last year who will run in 2026. YSU has won three straight and four of the last five HL Championships.
5000m – Three of the top six seeds are Penguins. Burgos, Fichter and Brady run for the Penguins. Fichter was sixth in 2025 and fifth in 2024 so he brings championship-meet experience. YSU has won three straight and four of the last five races.
60m Hurdles – The Guins have three of the top four seeds entering the meet. Leading the way is Micah Mitchell followed by Brandon Hutchinson and Clancy Chrystal. Mitchell was the runner up last year after placing third in 2024. Hutchinson was third and Chrystal fourth as YSU took the top four places in the event last year in Fort Wayne. YSU has won eight of the last 10 60m hurdles races.
Triple Jump – YSU has three of the top four jumpers entering the competition. YSU and Milwaukee each have three athletes over 14 meters this year. Tops in the league is Brayden Green while Emmanuel Asabere is third and Aaron Berardinelli is fourth. Berardinelli was second last year while Asabere came in third.
Long Jump – Four of the top seven in the event are Penguins. Hutchinson ranks third while Asabere and Isaiah Barker are fifth and Berardinelli is seventh. Hutchinson finished fourth at last year's HL meet. YSU has won five of the last eight long jump titles.
High Jump – Three of the top five ranked athletes in the high jump are Penguins. Noah Crozier, Connor Durig and Barker lead the way. Last year, Durig placed fifth and Crozier was seventh at the league meet. YSU has only won the event four times, most recently in 2022.
Pole Vault – The top two in the league are Lukas Lang and Jak Rovan. Lang won the Horizon League Championship last year after finishing fourth in 2024. Rovan is making his HL debut. YSU has won the event in eight straight years.
Shot Put – The top three in the conference are Jaden Kirkwood, Dominic Brown and Ryan Tetrick. Last year, Kirkwood was the runner up while Tetrick was seventh. Tetrick also added an eighth-place effort in 2024. YSU has won four of the last six shot put titles.
Weight Throw – The Guins have the top two throwers in the league. Tetrick leads the conference while Brown is second. Levi Glassmeyer sits in the seventh spot. Tetrick was sixth last year while Brown was ninth. YSU has won three of the last six titles.
Heptathlon – Hutchinson will represent the Guins in the event and has already eclipsed the 5,000-point mark this season. That was only the second time in school history a Penguin scored that many points. Last year he finished second. YSU has never won the event at HL meet.
DMR - YSU has not run the race this season. The Penguins were third in 2025 and second in 2024. The Guins won the event in 2021 and 2022. Four different schools have won the last four DMRs.
4x400m - The Guins have the best in-season time so far but are yet to win the event at the league meet. In 2024, YSU was second just a second back of Milwaukee. Last year, YSU did not run the race.
For news and updates throughout the 2026 Horizon League Indoor Championships, follow @YSUTrackFieldXC on X and Instagram.
