The Youngstown State men's track and field program eyes their seventh straight outdoor league title at the 2026 Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Rochester, Mich. The three-day meet will be hosted by Oakland at the Elaine Leigh Track and Field Complex.
The men's team enters conference weekend owning nine league titles, all coming since 2014. In meets hosted at Oakland, YSU has won the past two times (2023 and 2025) and placed second in two others.
Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The three-day meet will begin for the men on Friday with the decathlon at noon. The javelin is the first men's event is set for a 2 p.m. start followed by the discus at 5 p.m. Running events will begin at 7:20 p.m. with preliminary races of the 1500m run. The night is capped off with the 10,000m finals which is slated for 8 p.m.
Action will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. with the final five events of the decathlon. Field events will begin at 2:30 p.m. with the shot put and long jump. Saturday's running events will feature preliminary heats beginning at 3 p.m. with the 110m hurdles. The pole vault is set for 4 p.m.
The triple jump will open the final day at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Running events are set to get underway with the finals of the 4x100m relay at noon.
Running events during the meet will be carried live by Watch ESPN all three days.
The Penguins return five event champions from the 2025 squad, Lukas Lang (pole vault), Connor During (high jump), Trenton Shutters (800m), Owen Brady (5,000m) and Sage Vavro (steeplechase).
Event Breakdown
100m – YSU will be represented by Caedeon Trotter and Owen Pfeifer in the race. Both are making their Horizon League Championship debuts. Trotter leads the league with a best time of 10.51 seconds which came in late March. YSU had four finishers in the top eight last year, but none of those athletes are running this year. YSU last won the event in 2022.
200m – In the event, Logan Butcher, Owen Pfeifer, Shamir Rose and Caedeon Trotter are the four athletes who will be in action. All four are making their HL debuts. Trotter has the second-fastest time while Rose sits in fourth. YSU last won the event in 2019.
400m – Logan Butcher and Shamir Rose will run for the Guins in the race. Both Penguins rank in the top six in the conference. YSU has never won the race the outdoor league meet.
800m – Trenton Shutters will look to defend his title in the race. Shutters has the top time in the league and is one of two YSU athletes to run under 1:50 in the race. Shutters can become the first Penguin to win the race twice. Ethan Cope, Brock Farris and Jacob Puhalla will be in the race as well.
1,500m – Ethan Cope, Brock Farris, Blaze Fichter, Noah Johnson, Jacob Puhalla, Connor Shingleton and Sage Vavro will all be on the track in the 1,500m. Shingleton is ranked second in the event while Fichter is ranked fifth. Last year, Shingleton was eighth at the league meet.
5,000m – Owen Brady will look to repeat as the race winner after taking the top spot on the podium in 2025. Patrick Burgos, Blaze Fichter, Beau Gorby, Noah Johnson, Josh Jones and Caleb Prettyman are all slated to run in the race on Sunday. Burgos has the fourth fastest time in the league while Fichter is in the top eight. There have been only four repeat winner in HL history.
10,000m - Patrick Burgos, Beau Gorby and Caleb Prettyman will all run on Friday evening. Gorby is ranked seventh in the race. Burgos and Prettyman will be making their YSU debuts. The Penguins have won three of the last six 10Ks.
110m Hurdles – The Penguins have the top three runners are four of the top five entering the league meet. Michael Ballone, Clancy Chrystal, Brandon Hutchinson and Micah Mitchell will be in action. Mitchell ranks first, Hutchinson second and Chrystal third. Only Hutchinson did not run for YSU last May. At the 2025 league meet, Chrystal was second, Ballone placed third and Mitchell took seventh. Mitchell was third at Oakland in 2024.
400m Hurdles - Michael Ballone, Clancy Chrystal and Micah Mitchell are set to compete for the second straight year. Mitchell and Ballone currently rank second and third in the conference. The trio took second, third and fourth place in 2025.
Steeplechase – Sage Vavro will look to repeat as the race winner after claiming the top spot on the podium in 2025. Owen Brady returns as well after his runner-up effort a year ago. Other Penguins in the steeple are Josh Jones and Connor Shingleton. Vavro ranks first in the league, Shingleton second and Brady fifth. Only twice has there been a repeat winner in the race.
4x100m – YSU won it's first title in six years in 2025. None of the four runners from that relay are part of this year's lineup.
4x400m – The Penguins finished second in a close race last year in Youngstown. Three of the four runners from last year will be part of this year's lineup. YSU last won the race in 2004.
Long Jump - Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli, Brayden Green and Brandon Hutchinson will be competing for the Penguins on Saturday. Hutchinson, Green and Berardinelli all rank tied for second at 7.28m. YSU last won the event in 2022.
Triple Jump - Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli and Brayden Green will be competing for the Guins on Sunday morning. Green is the only jumper in the league to eclipse the 15.00m mark. Asabere is second behind Green.
High Jump – Connor Durig will look repeat as champion in the event. Noah Crozier is the current league leader and finished fifth at last year's event. Isaiah Barker is fifth. The last repeat winner was YSU jumps coach Arnaldo Morales in 2015-16.
Decathlon – Brandon Hutchinson and Karl Kain will compete in the two-day event. YSU has never had a winner of the event.
Pole Vault – Youngstown State has won the last eight pole vault championships after Lukas Lang picked up the victory last year. Lang will return to defend his title in 2026. Jak Rovan will make his outdoor HL debut.
Shot Put – Alan Austin, Dominic Brown and Jaden Kirkwood will represent YSU. Kirkwood currently leads the league as the only individual to throw over 17 meters. He finished second in his league debut in 2025. Brown placed sixth at last year's meet. YSU has won four of the last five competitions.
Hammer Throw – Alan Austin, Levi Glassmeyer and JaMeire Robinson are all making their HL debuts. Glassmeyer leads the Horizon League in the event.
Discus - Alan Austin, Dominic Brown, Levi Glassmeyer, Jaden Kirkwood and JaMeire Robinson will all be in action on Friday. Austin is ranked second, Kirkwood is fourth and Brown fifth entering the league meet.
Javelin - Alan Austin, Brandon Hutchinson and Karl Kain will all compete on Friday. Hutchinson ranks second in the conference.
Men's Entries
100m – Owen Pfeifer, Caedeon Trotter
200m – Logan Butcher, Owen Pfeifer, Shamir Rose, Caedeon Trotter
400m – Logan Butcher, Shamir Rose
800m – Ethan Cope, Brock Farris, Jacob Puhalla, Trenton Shutters
1,500m – Ethan Cope, Brock Farris, Blaze Fichter, Noah Johnson, Jacob Puhalla, Connor Shingleton, Sage Vavro
5,000m – Owen Brady, Patrick Burgos, Blaze Fichter, Beau Gorby, Noah Johnson, Josh Jones, Caleb Prettyman
10,000m – Patrick Burgos, Beau Gorby, Caleb Prettyman
4x100m – Emmanuel Asabere, Micah Mitchell, Owen Pfeifer, Caedeon Trotter
4x400m – Michael Ballone, Logan Butcher, Clancy Chrystal, Micah Mitchell, Shamir Rose, Trenton Shutters, Caedeon Trotter
110m Hurdles – Michael Ballone, Clancy Chrystal, Brandon Hutchinson, Micah Mitchell
400m Hurdles – Michael Ballone, Clancy Chrystal, Micah Mitchell
Steeplechase – Owen Brady, Josh Jones, Connor Shingleton, Sage Vavro
Long Jump – Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli, Brayden Green, Brandon Hutchinson
Triple Jump – Emmanuel Asabere, Aaron Berardinelli, Brayden Green, Brandon Hutchinson
High Jump – Isaiah Barker, Noah Crozier, Connor Durig
Shot Put – Alan Austin, Dominic Brown, Jaden Kirkwood
Discus – Alan Austin, Dominic Brown, Levi Glassmeyer, Jaden Kirkwood, JaMeire Robinson
Javelin – Alan Austin, Brandon Hutchinson, Karl Kain
Hammer Throw – Alan Austin, Levi Glassmeyer, JaMeire Robinson
Pole Vault – Lukas Lang, Jak Rovan
Decathlon – Brandon Hutchinson, Karl Kain
