Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State head track and field coach Brian Gorby has announced the hiring of Maura Huwalt as the Penguins' throws coach on Thursday.
Huwalt joins the program after spending the 2025-26 season as a volunteer coach at Miami (Fla.), where she worked with the Hurricanes' shot put, discus, hammer throw and javelin athletes.
"We are excited to have Maura leading our YSU throwers," Gorby said. "Maura comes to Youngstown State with strong recommendations from many ACC and SEC throws coaches. After qualifying for the NCAA Championships in all five throwing events - discus, shot put, hammer throw, javelin and weight throw - she brings a level of national experience that allows her to truly serve and elevate every event group. She will be the first YSU throws coach with high-level competitive experience across all five throwing events, and I know she will continue to strengthen and improve our program."
Working under Miami Associate Head Coach and Throws Coach Cory Young, Huwalt helped coach Calea Jackson in the women's discus and Deisiane Teixeira in the women's javelin to honorable mention All-America honors after both placed among the top 24 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Huwalt also helped Jackson qualify for her first NCAA Outdoor Championships after she recorded a personal-best discus throw of 58.26 meters at the NCAA East First Round. The mark ranks second in Miami outdoor program history.
She also worked with Tyson Schiele (men's javelin), Alva Back (women's javelin), Utitofon Sam (women's hammer throw and discus), Jocelyn Pringle (women's hammer throw), Desmond Coleman (men's discus) and Lauren Kirby (women's shot put), who all qualified for the NCAA East First Round. Miami sent a school-record eight throwers to the regional competition.
At the ACC Outdoor Championships, Huwalt helped Pringle place fourth in the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 65.03 meters, which ranks second in Miami outdoor program history.
Huwalt also coached Back and Schiele to personal-best javelin throws of 49.87 meters and 73.29 meters, respectively, in their collegiate outdoor debuts at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational. Both performances rank second in Miami outdoor program history.
During the indoor season, Miami's throws group earned four top-three finishes at the ACC Indoor Championships, including a conference title in the women's weight throw.
Three men's throwers and one women's thrower moved into Miami's indoor weight throw record book during Huwalt's first season on staff, while the Hurricanes' women's weight throw group climbed as high as No. 4 nationally.
"I am incredibly excited to join the Youngstown State family and be a part of such a successful program," Huwalt said. "I'm looking forward to working alongside Coach Brian Gorby and the rest of the staff to continue building on the tradition of excellence here at YSU. The program has a rich history of winning championships, especially in the Horizon League, and I'm eager to help continue that success while making a positive impact on our student-athletes."
Before beginning her coaching career, Huwalt was one of the most accomplished throwers in Auburn history.
A 2022 SEC champion in the discus, Huwalt completed a six-year career at Auburn University, where she served as a team captain and earned three NCAA All-America honors. She was a 12-time SEC finalist and qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in all five throwing events, totaling 10 regional appearances during her collegiate career.
Huwalt also became a three-time USATF qualifier in the shot put, discus and javelin, eventually garnering an invitation to the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials qualifier in the discus.
She graduated from Auburn in 2023 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in business analytics.
