Women’s Track and Field | Horizon League
Champions
Things definitely aren’t getting any easier, but the
Youngstown State women’s track and field team has continued
to find a way to keep bringing the Horizon League Championship
trophy back to Youngstown.
Coming off their first defeat in two years during the 2005-06
indoor season, the Penguins entered the final day of the outdoor
championship trailing UW-Milwaukee by 26 points. The scenario was
eerily similar to the indoor meet in February, where YSU trailed
the Panthers by 21 and ended up placing second by the same margin.
But the Penguins came up big by outscoring the Panthers 163 to 126
to win by 11 points and claim their third straight outdoor
championship and fifth overall title in the last three years.
The Penguins got a huge lift from three specialty award winners
in Danielle Bolt, Bethany Anderson and Cortland native Katie Betts.
Coach Brian Gorby also accepted his sixth Horizon League Coach of
the year award on behalf of the entire staff after leading YSU to
its 14th overall championship in his 13 seasons.
Bolt, a sprinter from Brookline, mass, was named the
meet’s Outstanding Running Performer. She won the 100-meter
dash, anchored the winning 4x100-meter relay and placed fourth in
200-meters. Anderson, a thrower from Jamestown, N.Y., earned
Outstanding Field Performer honors after a win in the shot put and
the hammer. Betts was named Running Newcomer of the Year after
placing second in the 200-meters, third in 100-meters and running
in YSU’s winning 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays.
Seniors Satara Freeman and Katy Williams also picked up
victories to end their careers. Freeman won the 100-meter hurdles
with a time of 14.35 seconds, and Williams earned the top spot on
the podium in the discus with a mark of 135 feet, 3 inches.
Bolt and Betts paced a strong sprints group that scored a total
of 73 points. Bolt ran a time of 11.94 in the 100-meters to edge
UW-Milwaukee’s Timeka Walker by. 02 seconds for the top spot.
Bett’s time of 12.12 was good enough for third and Ashley
Oliver and Darcella Formby placed fourth and fifth.
Bett’s ran a time of 24.83 to place second ahead of Jeanna
Cunningham and Bolt in the 200-meter dash. Cunningham placed second
in the 400-meter with a time of 56.15, and Kari Kreutzfeld added a
fourth-place time of 59.26.
Cunningham, Betts and Bolt teamed up with Yandeh Joh to win the
4x100-meter relay, and Cunningham, Kreutzfeld, Joh and Betts ran in
the first-place 4x400-meter relay.
In addition to Freeman’s winning time of 14.35 in the 100m
hurdles, Joh placed third with a time of 14.78 and finished second
in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.93.
In the distance events, Emily Cicero closed out her accomplished
career with a third place finish in the steeplechase with a time of
a fifth-place in the 800m with a time of 2:20.23.
In the field events, Joh set the school record in the long jump
with a mark of 18-9 ¾, Jen Grayson tied the school record
and placed second in the high jump with a mark of 5-5 ¾.
Carly Youlton finished one spot behind Joh in the long jump with a
mark of 18-6 and placed third in the triple jump with a mark of
37-11 1/4.
Behind Anderson’s mark of 44-3 ½ in the shot put,
Lindsey Hill finished second with a distance of 42-3 ¼ and
Amy Hill was fourth with a heave of 40-6 ¼. Jacqueline
Clonch finished in the discus with a mark of 133-5, and Amy Hill
posted a mark of 126-0 to place fifth. Amy Hill added a third-place
mark in the hammer with a mark of 147-9, and Lindsey Cobey placed
fourth with a distance of 143-5. Lindsey Hill placed fourth in the
Javelin with a mark of 113-0
Grayson added a second-place score of 4,195 points in
heptathlon.
