Morales's Horizon League Champions
Former Youngstown State standout high jumper Arnaldo Morales is in his fifth season an assistant track and field coach for the Penguins. Morales spearheads the Penguins’ jumps program and assist with the multi-events.
In his four years with the program, his return to the Mahoning Valley has paid huge dividends. YSU has sent men's and women's jumpers to the NCAA Outdoor Championships and been represented on the men's side at the indoor NCAA meet.
Tye Hunt capped off his YSU career earning second-team All-America honors in the long jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Hunt placed an impressive 10th, the second-highest finish at the meet in program history. At the NCAA East Regionals, Hunt, Luke Laubacher, Nia Williams-Matthews and Esther Solarin all competed in the jumps.
At the outdoor HL meet, Connor Durig won the high jump while YSU had the second-place finishers in the long jump and triple jump. For the women, Williams-Matthews claimed the triple jump title and Emily Bee was second with a school-record performance in the heptathlon.
At the indoor HL Championships, Laubacher won the long jump while YSU was runner up in the men's triple jump and high jump. Solarin swept the titles in the long jump and triple jump and was named the Outstanding Women's Field Performer.
During the 2024 campaign, the jumpers produced All-Americans during the indoor and outdoor campaigns. During the indoor season, Hunt placed ninth at the NCAA Championships in the long jump. During the outdoor season, Esther Solarin finished 19th in the triple jump at the NCAA Championships. On the year, YSU set school records for men's indoor triple jump and long jump, men's outdoor triple jump, women's indoor long jump and triple jump and women's outdoor long jump and triple jump.
Additionally, Jakari Lomax, a nine-time HL champion in the triple jump, competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in the triple jump.
At the Horizon League indoor meet, Hunt won the long jump, Lomax won the triple jump, Bee won the pentathlon, Nia Williams-Matthews won the triple jump. At the Horizon League outdoor meet, Lomax won the triple jump, Mason Stephens won the high jump and Solarin swept the long jump and triple jump events.
During the 2023 campaign, YSU collected seven Horizon League Championships and missed out by one centimeter from qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
At the 2023 Horizon League Outdoor Championships, YSU won three titles and finished second in four other events. The Guins swept the triple jump events with Lomax taking first place for the men while Williams-Matthews earned the crown for the women. Lonnie Harper claimed his first career title in the high jump on the final day. Earning second-place finishes for the Penguins were Olivia Jones (women's heptathlon and high jump), Solarin (women's triple jump) and Stephens (men's high jump). In the men's long jump, the Guins placed third, fourth and fifth.
At the NCAA East Prelims, Hunt finished a career-best 13th in the long jump coming up just one spot shy of reaching the top 12 to advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. During the year, Williams-Matthews broke the women's record in the triple jump which had stood since 2009.
At the 2023 Horizon League Indoor Championships, the Guins won four individual events while adding a runner-up performance. Jones had a memorable final HL Indoor Championship winning the high jump and the pentathlon. Jones scored a school-record 3,730 points to win the pentathlon. Williams-Matthews won her first indoor championship in the triple jump while Lomax won his fourth straight title in the event. In the men's high jump, Harper placed second. In the men's long jump, the Guins had an impressive 3-4-5-6-7 finish. Lomax, Williams-Matthews and Hunt also set school records during the campaign.
At the 2022 Horizon League Indoor Championships, YSU won four titles and finished second in two other events. The Guins swept the triple jump events with Lomax taking first place for the men while Williams-Matthews earned the crown for the women. In the long jump, Jessica Stever led a 1-2-3 women's placing while the men took spots 2-4 and sixth place. Terron Taylor won the high jump title as three Penguins placed in the top six. In the women's pentathlon Emily Bee was second overall.
At the 2022 Horizon League Outdoor Championships, the men earned a pair of titles while Jones won the heptathlon for the women. For the men, Taylor finished off the indoor-outdoor sweep in the high jump while Lomax did the same in the triple jump. Hunt picked up his first career long jump. In fact, Hunt led a first through fifth-place effort in the long jump giving YSU 33 points in the event. Lomax was followed by teammate Daiquain Watson in the triple jump, while Williams-Matthews was the runner up in the women's event. Olivia Jones took first in the heptathlon for the third consecutive year.
Morales, a native of Struthers, Ohio, spent the 2020-21 season at Pratt Community College in Pratt, Kansas. In his one season, the Beavers indoor track & field program sent 16 athletes to the Indoor National Championships and produced five All-Americans.
Prior to Pratt, Arnaldo was an Assistant Track and Field Coach at Austintown Fitch High School where he specialized both in the long jump and high jump. During his time at Fitch, Morales produced four regional qualifiers and one state qualifier in the high jump.
Morales had a decorated career at YSU from 2014-18. In the high jump on the indoor circuit, he won Horizon League Championships in 2014 and 2017 while placing second in 2015 and 2016. At the Outdoor Horizon League meet, he was a four-time league champion in the high jump event, winning in 2014-16, and 2018. During the 2016 season, he was named the Outstanding Field Performer after setting a new conference record in the event.
Arnaldo was a four-time NCAA First Round qualifier, posting his best finish 2016 with a 25th-place finish. That same season he broke the school high jump mark which had stood since 1989.
Morales earned his degree from Youngstown State in Exercise Science.
