The Youngstown State women's track and field team is out for their 11th league title in the past 12 years and 12th in the last 14 at the 2026 Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Rochester, Mich. The three-day meet begins on Friday and will be hosted by Oakland at the Elaine Leigh Track and Field Complex.
Running events during the meet will be carried live by Watch ESPN all three days while in-progress results will be available for all events.
Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Youngstown State is going for its 17th overall outdoor championship title. YSU has also finished second on four occasions, most recently in 2024. The Penguins have won three of four titles in Rochester. Youngstown State was second to Milwaukee last time the event was held at the facility.
The Penguins return one event champion from the 2025 squad, senior Ainsley Hamsher who won the pole vault. YSU senior Melana Schumaker won the pole vault in 2024 at Oakland and senior Madison Murry won the 110m hurdles in 2022.
The three-day meet will commence on Friday with the first events of the heptathlon set for 12:30 p.m. The discus is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start in what is the first individual event to be held. Running events will begin at 7:40 p.m. with preliminary races of the women's 1500m run. The finals of the 10,000m will be held on opening night at 8:45.
Action will resume Saturday with the final three events of the heptathlon starting at 9:30 a.m. Field events will begin at noon with the shot put and long jump. Saturday's running events will feature preliminary heats beginning at 3 p.m. with the 100m hurdles.
On Sunday, the hammer throw and high jump open the final day at 10 a.m. Running events are set to get underway with the finals of the 4x100m relay at 12:05 p.m.
Event-by-Event Breakdown
100m – YSU will be represented by Anais Martinez, Madison Murry, Elle Pearsall and Ava Reeves. Martinez and Reeves will be making their HL debuts. Martinez and Reeves rank fifth and sixth respectively in the league, but the top eight runners are between 11.84 and 11.95 seconds. The Penguins have won the 14 straight 100m races at the HL meet dating back to 2010.
200m – Tori Atkins, Melody Harloff, Ava Littler, Anais Martinez, Elle Pearsall and Ava Reeves will run for the Guins. Harloff and Martinez rank in the top four while YSU has four of the top eight times entering the meet. Harloff finished fourth in 2025 and sixth in 2024. YSU has won 12 of the last 14 races.
400m – Tori Atkins and Melody Harloff will be the two Penguins in the 400m. Harloff has been the runner-up in each of the last two championships. The duo ranks third and fourth in the league entering the championships. The lone YSU winner of the HL title in the 400m was Breanne Romeo who won in 2008 at the old YSU outdoor track complex.
800m – The Guins will be represented in the event with Carly Hall and Karis McElhaney scheduled to compete. McElhaney is making her HL debut. YSU has never won the race.
1500m – School-record-holder and league-leader McKinley Fielding leads the way. Slated to join her in the race are Carly Hall and Maggie Hopple. Fielding leads the conference by 13 seconds. Hopple ranks in the top five as she makes her HL debut. Fielding placed third at the 2025 championships in Youngstown. YSU has never won the 1,500m.
5,000m – The Penguins will run six athletes in the race led by McKinley Fielding. Fielding has the top time in the HL by 26 seconds. Other Guins set to run are Maggie Hopple, Molly Hopple, Lillian Katsaras, Jenna Razavi and Megan Stafford. Currently, Richards sits third and Razavi is fourth. Morgan Cole and Samantha Hamilton are the only two YSU runners to win the event. Richards was fourth last year and Razavi came in fifth.
10,000m – In Primetime on Friday, Molly Hopple, Caleigh Richards and Megan Stafford will run for the Guins. Only four athletes from the league have run this year. At the 2025, HL meet, Richards was third. Morgan Cole and Hamilton are the only two YSU runners to win the event.
110m Hurdles – Ava Littler, Madison Murry and Lea Parham will compete for the Penguins. Parham ranks second in the league with a time of 13.60 seconds while Littler is currently sixth. Last year, Parham was sixth and Murry was seventh. Murry won the race in 2022.
400m Hurdles - Lea Parham is the only Guin competing in the race. She ranks fifth in the conference entering the league meet. She finished 14th in 2024 and 2025.
Steeplechase – Jenna Razavi and Caleigh Richards have both had career-best years in the event. Razavi leads the league following a school record time of 10:30.73. That tops the conference by 10 seconds. Last year, Razavi was second in the race. Richards ranks fifth in the league. YSU last won the race in 2013.
4x100m – YSU ranks first in the league with a best time of 45.36 seconds. The Penguins have won the relay on 10 occasions, most recently in 2023, which was a meet record. The Guins were fifth last year.
4x400m – The final event of the meet. The Guins sit in second in the league entering the conference meet. YSU last won the race in 2017.
High Jump – Kalli Knoble and Mia Dionsio will lead the Penguins in the event. The YSU duo is currently tied for the third best marks in the league. Knoble had an impressive fourth-place performance last year.
Long Jump – Daisha Decree and Sara Roe will be in the event. Decree ranks sixth in the league while Roe is making her Horizon League debut. Decree finished third at last year's HL meet.
Triple Jump – Daisha Decree and Sara Roe will compete in the event. Decree finished seventh in 2024 and eighth in 2025.
Pole Vault – A deep squad of Jaden Brambley, Kaitlyn Eger, Ainsley Hamsher, Marissa Ratliff. Melana Schumaker, Gabbi Selman should help the Guins accumulate points. Hamsher, Eger and Selman rank 1-2-3 in the league with Ratliff and Shumaker in the top seven. Schumaker and Hamsher went 1-2 at the 2024 meet in Oakland, while Eger and Selman finished fourth and fifth, respectively. In 2025, Hamsher was first, Schumaker was second and Eger came in third.
Shot Put – Maggie Goodlin and Olivia Mason will represent YSU. Goodlin, who will be making her HL debut, ranks fifth in the conference. Mason placed fifth at the 2025 championships.
Discus – Maggie Goodlin, Jaylynn King, Olivia Mason and Lexus Solarz are set to compete. Solarz ranks second in the league in the event.
Hammer Throw – India Bailey, Jaylynn King, Brookylnn McIntyre and Grace Sparks will be in action for the Penguins. King, Sparks and Bailey all rank in the top seven. YSU last won the event in 2023.
Javelin – India Bailey and Sofie Price will compete for the Penguins on Friday. Bailey currently ranks third in the HL in the event. She finished third in the 2025 meet and was seventh in 2024. YSU last won the event in 2023.
Women's Entries
100m – Anais Martinez, Madison Murry, Elle Pearsall, Ava Reeves
110m Hurdles – Ava Littler, Madison Murry, Lea Parham
400m Hurdles – Lea Parham
200m – Tori Atkins, Melody Harloff, Ava Littler, Anais Martinez, Elle Pearsall, Ava Reeves
400m – Tori Atkins, Melody Harloff
800m – Carly Hall, Karis McElhaney
1500m – McKinley Fielding, Carly Hall, Maggie Hopple
5000m – McKinley Fielding, Maggie Hopple, Molly Hopple, Lillian Katsaras, Jenna Razavi, Megan Stafford
Steeplechase – Jenna Razavi, Caleigh Richards
10,000m – Molly Hopple, Caleigh Richards, Megan Stafford
4x100m – Tori Atkins, Melody Harloff, Anais Martinez, Elle Pearsall, Ava Littler, Ava Reeves
4x400m – Tori Atkins, Mia Dionisio, Melody Harloff, Anais Martinez, Elle Pearsall, Karis McElhaney
Javelin – India Bailey, Sofie Price
Hammer Throw – India Bailey, Jaylynn King, Brooklynn McIntyre, Grace Sparks
Pole Vault – Jaden Brambley, Kaitlyn Eger, Ainsley Hamsher, Marissa Ratliff. Melana Schumaker, Gabbi Selman
Long Jump – Daisha Decree, Sara Roe
Triple Jump – Daisha Decree, Sara Roe
High Jump – Mia Dionisio, Kalli Knoble
Shot Put – Maggie Goodlin, Olivia Mason
Discus – Maggie Goodlin, Jaylynn King, Olivia Mason, Lexus Solarz
