Coach Townsend's Horizon League Champions
Sprints and hurdles coach David Townsend has done a masterful job turning Youngstown State into one of the premier running programs in the nation.
While being a force in the Horizon League for nearly 16 years, YSU stepped up big on the national scale in the past 10 campaigns.
Since 2016, Townsend has coached an individual who has reached five outdoor NCAA meets and at one point the Guins were represented in four consecutive indoor championships.
Chad Zallow was one of the top hurdlers in the country under the direction of Townsend, claiming first-team All-America honors at the 2017 and 2018 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. In 2017, he finished a career-best third in the 60m hurdles and followed that with a fifth-place performance in 2018. In 2019, Zallow finished ninth in the 60m hurdles earning second-team All-America honors.
Zallow earned second-team All-America honors in the 110m Hurdles at the 2017 Outdoor NCAA Track and Field Championships as well by finishing ninth. During the year, Zallow ran one of top times in the nation (13.37 seconds). In 2018, Zallow finished 15th in the 110m hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships which earned him second-team All-America honors for the second straight year. Zallow also advanced to four indoor NCAA Championships finishing in the top nine every year, with a best finish of third in 2017.
Collin Harden reached the Outdoor NCAA Championship twice in his decorated career. Harden finished a career-best 18th in the 400m hurdles at the NCAA meet in 2021 after placing 22nd in his first appearance in 2019. Harden also later ran at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the event.
For the first time in his career, Luke Laubacher advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in the 110m Hurdles in 2024. Laubacher placed 21st in the event in Eugene, Oregon. Laubacher claimed honorable-mention All-America accolades for his efforts. For the women, Jaliyah Elliott reached the 2019 NCAA indoor meet in the 60m dash.
Against Horizon League foes, the Guins have dominated the hurdles and sprinting events since 2017.
During the 2025 outdoor campaign, Laubacher won his fourth consecutive 110m hurdles title, a first in league history in the event. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA East Prelims for the second straight year. Micah Mitchell made his first NCAA East Prelims appearance in the 110m hurdles as well. At the league meet, the men won the 4x100m relay while Michael Ballone was second in the 400m hurdles, Clancy Chrystal was second in the 110m hurdles and Jake Mcentyre was second in the 200m. For the women, Mariah Day placed first in the 100m dash, giving YSU the champion in the event for the 14th straight year. Melody Harloff (400m) and Emily Bee (100m hurdles) added runner up finishes. During the year, Bee broke the school record in the 100m hurdles.
In the indoor season, Laubacher won the 60m hurdles for the third time in his decorated career at the HL meet. Mitchell placed second in the 60m hurdles as well. Laubacher was named the Alfreeda Goff Indoor Athlete of the Year. For the women, Day was second in the 60m hurdles in her HL debut.
In 2024, Laubacher and Harry Barton collected Horizon League hurdles titles during the outdoor season and both went on to compete at the NCAA East Prelims. Laubacher won his third straight 110m hurdles title and Barton won his second straight 400m hurdles race. At the outdoor league meet, Laubacher was second and Christian Ford finished third in the 200m dash while in the 100m, Ford was second and Laubacher placed third. In the 400m, Barton was second and set a school record that had stood since 2008. YSU was first, third and fourth in both the 400m hurdles and 110m hurdles.
For the women, Nia Grose won the 100m for the first HL title of her career. In the 400m, Harloff took runner-up honors.
During the indoor season, Cyncere Cunningham was second in the 60m. In the men's 60m dash, YSU had four of the top six finishers. In the men's 200m dash, the Guins had five of the top seven placers as Daimere Stephens-Stewart won his first career HL title. Barton won his first career indoor 400m title as well. Laubacher won the 60m hurdles while Micah Mitchell came in third.
In 2023, Jahniya Bowers, an eventual NCAA Champion, powered the women's sprinters while Laubacher claimed an indoor and outdoor sweep in the men's hurdles.
Bowers had an impressive performance at the NCAA East Prelims finishing 16th in the 100m dash. In the first round, she set the school record with a time of 11.22 seconds to move on to the quarterfinals. At the Horizon League outdoor meet, Bowers won the 100m and 200m dashes for the second time in her career. As a group, the Guins won the 4x100m relay with a school-record time of 45.36 seconds. Kyndia Matlock placed third in the 100m and the 200m as well.
During the indoor season, Bowers won the 60m and the 200m at the Horizon League Championships while Matlock was second in the 200m and fourth in the 100m. Madison Murry was second in the 60m hurdles. The women's 4x400m relay team help YSU clinch the title with a fantastic finish. During the league meet, Murry set the school record in the 60m hurdles. On the year, Bowers tied the school record in the 60m dash for the second time and set the record in the 200m.
For the men, Laubacher won the 60m hurdles at the HL Indoor Championships and the 110m hurdles at the HL Outdoor Championships. Barton won his first career 400m Hurdles title and competed at the NCAA East Prelims for the first time in his career. At the indoor meet, YSU had three of the top eight 60m finishers and two in the 200m.
At the 2022 indoor championships, Bowers stepped up at the indoor meet winning the 60m and 200m dashes. In the 60m, YSU finished first, second, fourth and fifth. In the 200m, YSU took the top three placings.
For the men, Anthony Woods burst on the scene in the 60m winning his first league championship. His time of 6.78 seconds in the finals led a one-three-five YSU effort. During the year, Woods set the school record in the 60m running a blazing 6.63 seconds on Dec. 10, 2021. In the hurdles, Murry took second for the women while Laubacher placed second for the men.
At the outdoor championships, Woods showed out as the HL's Fastest Man in the 100m dash. Woods cruised home with a time of 10.35 seconds to run away with the crown. For the women, Matlock took home the 100m dash title. Suerethia Henderson flipped the switch to win the 200m dash for the first title of her YSU career. In the hurdle events, Laubacher took home the title in the 110m hurdles while Murry won the 100m hurdles.
Harden was the headliner in 2021 as he won the 110m hurdlers and the 400m hurdles at the Horizon League Championships. He advanced to the NCAA East Preliminary Round finishing an impressive sixth-place in the event. Harden had to push in the opening round to advance via the final spot. At the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, he finished 18th with a time of 51.06 seconds earning honorable-mention All-American honors.
Christian Ford and Bowers collected their first Horizon League titles in May. Ford won the 100m dash while Bowers took home first place in the 100m and 200m events. The women's 4x100 squad comprised of Matlock, Bowers, Logan Franczkowski and Teneisha Myers clocked a time of 46.35 seconds to take the event title and move the Penguins to three straight titles in the event
At the indoor meet, Murry won the 60m hurdles and the Matlock won the 60m dash and was second in the 60m hurdles to lead the women.
In 2020, the men won the 60m dash, 200m dash and 60m hurdles at the indoor league championships while the women captured titles in the 60m, 200m and scored 67 points across three events.
Dakari Carter won the 60m dash, marking the sixth straight year and eight out the last nine years that a Penguin has won the event. The freshman also took first in the 200m and was named the Freshman of the Year on the track.
Harden closed out his indoor career by scoring 19 points across three events at the league meet. The senior won his first 60m hurdles title, finished as the runner-up in the 400m and was eighth place in the 200m. Harden clocked the second fastest 60m hurdles time in school history when he finished in 7.91 seconds at the YSU Icebreaker on December 6.
Elliott capped off one of the best careers in program history by being named the Alfreeda Goff Indoor Female Athlete of the Year, winning the 60m for the third consecutive year and 200m for the second straight year at the league meet. The senior became just the fourth sprinter in league history to be a three-time champion in the 60m. Elliott broke her own school record in the 200m when she clocked a time of 23.66 seconds in the finals.
After falling to as far as third in the team standings, the women's sprinters scored 67 points in the 60m, 200m and 400m dashes. In the 60m, the Penguins scored 30 points and finished in the top four spots with Elliott in first, Bowers in second, Henderson in third and Matlock in fourth.
The Penguins then scored 29 points and finished in the top four spots in the 200m. Elliott took first, Henderson was in second, Bowers came in third and Myers finished fourth. Earlier in the meet, Myers finished as the runner-up in the 400m.
Bowers made an immediate impact being named the Freshman of the Year on the track and running the second-fastest 60m time in school history at the YSU Icebreaker when she clocked a time of 7.38 seconds.
At the 2019 indoor meet, the men captured the 60m dash, 200m dash and 60m hurdles. They also claimed titles in the 100m, 200m, 110m hurdles, 400m hurdles and 4x100m relay at the outdoor championship.
The Penguins had the top three finishers in the 60m and 60m hurdles, while also earning the top four finishers in the 200m. Chad Zallow won the 60m and 60m hurdles for the fourth consecutive year as well as the 200m for the third straight time. Zallow broke an 18-year-old school record in the 60m when he clocked a time of 6.72 seconds on January 18 before ultimately lowering his program record to 6.69 seconds on February 24.
Zallow was recognized as the championship’s Most Outstanding Performer on the track and the Horizon League's Indoor Athlete of the Year. He also qualified for the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships where he finished with the ninth-fastest time in the 60m hurdles and second team All-American honors.
At the outdoor league meet, the men earned the top four finishers in the 100m dash, four of the top five finishers in the 110m hurdles and the top two in the 200m. Zallow swept the 100m, 200m and 110m hurdles titles while Collin Harden became the first hurdler in league history to win the 400m hurdles three consecutive years. Harden also lowered his school record time in the event to 51.01 seconds on May 5.
Zallow qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round where he finished with the 31st fastest time in the 110m hurdles.
Harden punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships after running the 12th-fastest time in the 400m hurdles at the NCAA East Preliminary quarterfinals. Harden lowered his school-record time in the event after finishing in 50.52 seconds.
At the NCAA Championships, Harden clocked a time of 52.30 seconds which placed him 22nd overall. He earned honorable mention All-America honors for his finish.
On the women’s side, they won the 60m dash and 200m dash at the indoor meet and the 100m dash, 200m and 4x100m relay outdoors.
Elliott claimed the titles in the 60m and 200m while Henderson finished as the runner-up in both races. Elliott broke the school record in both events on February 24 when she ran a time of 7.25 seconds in the 60m and 23.85 seconds in the 200m. Elliott advanced to the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships where she earned second-team All-America honors after clocking a time of 7.36 seconds in the 60m.
At the outdoor meet, Elliott secured the 100m and 200m dash titles while Henderson finished second place in both events. She also qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in the 100m and 200m dashes where he finished 27th, and 26th respectively.
Elliott was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Performer in at both the indoor and outdoor meets as well as the Horizon League's Outdoor Athlete of the Year.
In 2018, the women won the 60m dash, 200m dash, the 60m hurdles and the 4x400m relay at the indoor meet and the 100m, 200m, 100m hurdles and 4x100m at the outdoor meet. The men won the 60m, 60m dash and 200m indoors and the 100m, 110m hurdles and 4x100m outdoors.
In the 60m dash and the 200m, YSU had runners finish first, second, fourth and fifth. Elliott won the 60m while Keishawnna Burts won the 200m. Amber Eles claimed her second consecutive title in the 60m hurdles. Zallow won the 60m, 60m hurdles and 200m at the indoor meet. YSU was first, second and fourth in the 60m and first, third and fourth in the 200m. Outdoors, Burts won the 100m and the 200m, Eles won the 100m hurdles, Carl Zallow won the 100m while Chad Zallow won the 110m hurdles.
At the Indoor league meet in 2017, the men and women swept the 60m dash, 60m hurdles and 200m dash. At the outdoor meet, YSU swept the 100m dashes and the two hurdles events while the women added a 200m dash crown.
Zallow won the 60m, 60m hurdles and 200m at the indoor meet while Eles (hurdles), Taylor Thompkins (60m) and Taylor McDonald (200m) all won for the women. At the outdoor championships for the women, Elliott won the 100m and 200m dashes while Eles (100m hurdles) and McDonald (400m hurdles) earned wins. Zallow took first in the 100m dash and the 110m hurdles while Harden won the 400m hurdles. Carl Zallow was the runner-up in both the 100m and 200m dashes.
Zallow was recognized as both the Horizon League's Indoor and Outdoor Athlete of the Year.
The Penguins' men's and women's teams swept the championships in 2017 winning both the indoor and outdoor meets. In 2018, the women claimed both the indoor and outdoor titles while the men won the indoor crown.
Since joining the coaching staff in 2007, the Penguins have won 77 individual titles - including 43 the past four years - in sprinting events and the hurdles.
In 2016, Nina Grambling capped off a tremendous career winning the 60m and 200m indoors and the 100m and 200m outdoors. She combined to win 13 races for her illustrious outdoor and indoor career. At the indoor meet in the 60m hurdles Shatasia Walker took first while Eles claimed the outdoor title in the 100m hurdles. The women swept the relays for the year winning both 4x400's and the 4x100.
An exciting addition to Townsend's arsenal was Chad Zallow. A highly-touted recruit from Nearby Warren, Zallow burst on the scene winning the 60m dash and the 60m hurdles at the indoor Horizon League Championships. Zallow, who smashed the indoor hurdles record numerous times during the year, finished ninth in the event at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to earn second-team All-America status. He was named the Horizon League's Indoor Athlete of the Year. Zallow broke an 23-year-old school record in the 110m hurdles during the outdoor campaign.
In 2015, YSU sprinters won both the 60m and 200m at the indoor men's and women's HL meets while the women added a victory in the 400m. At the Outdoor HL Championships, Grambling captured first in both the 100m and 200m dash for the second consecutive year while the men won the 100m dash.
During the indoor league meet, Grambling won both the 60m dash and 200m dash for the first time in her YSU career. Carl Zallow took first in both events as well. Jen Shiley added a win in the 400m just for good measure as the women won the league crown by one point over Milwaukee. In the 60m women's race, the Penguins finished first, third and fourth. In the 60m men's race, YSU took the top three spots and four of the first five. Both the men and women went 1-2 in the 200m dash.
Grambling was named the Female Athlete of the Year, the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet and won the Individual Scoring Champion Award.
At the outdoor championships in Michigan, Grambling locked down another pair of sprint wins taking first in the 100m and the 200m. It was her third straight 100m dash championship at the outdoor competition. A new face, Leighton Antonio burst on the scene on the men's side taking first in the 100m dash. Zallow was second in the 100m.
In 2014, Ciara Jarrett became the first Penguin to win the same event four times in her career at the Horizon League Indoor Championships by winning the 200-meter dash. At the outdoor event, Grambling won both the 100m dash and 200m dash joining Jarrett (2011 and 2012) as Penguins to win both events at the outdoor meet.
As a group, the Penguins won three of the four team conference titles in 2014. The women claimed both the indoor and outdoor titles while men won their first-ever outdoor HL title and placed second at the indoor meet.
In 2013, YSU women won both the 200m indoor and outdoor titles as well as the 100-meter and 100-meter hurdles during the outdoor slate. The men earned first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the conference's indoor championships.
Jarrett won the 200-meter dash at both the indoor and outdoor Horizon League Championships. At the outdoor meet she set a Horizon League record with a time of 23.83 seconds. Grambling was the champion in the 100m dash and Laura Kosiorek won the title in the 100m hurdles at the outdoor meet. Also the Penguins won the 4x100-meter relay in meet-record time. In the indoor meet, Michael Davis won the 60-meter dash and Tarelle Irwin took home the crown in the 200 meters.
Jarrett has had a decorated career through three-and-a-half seasons. She has won 10 conference championships, including a perfect seven-for-seven in 200-meter dash titles. She has also won two 100-meter dash crowns and took home the long jump title at the 2014 indoor meet. She did not compete at the 2014 outdoor league meet. The 2014 YSU Female Athlete of the Year, she placed 21st in the 200m at the 2013 NCAA Preliminary Round.
Grambling won three events at the 2014 outdoor meet - 100m, 200m and the long jump.
In 2012, Jarrett won the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash at the outdoor league meet. Davis was second in the 200m wile Irwin was third. At the indoor meet, Jarrett won the 200m, was second in the 60m, Davis won the 60m and was second in the 200m while Irwin was third in the 200m.
At the 2011 Indoor Horizon League Championships, Jarrett was first in the 200-meter dash and third in the 60m. YSU placed first, third and fourth in the 200m. For the men, Davis was second in the 60-meter dash by .01 and claimed second place in the 200m.
At the Outdoor Horizon League meet, Jarrett won the 100-meter dash and the 200m en route being named the Running Newcomer of the Year. In the 100m, YSU had the first, third and fourth-place runners while in the 200, it was first and third. On the men's side, Davis won the 200-meter dash and was third in the 100m.
In 2010, the Penguins had multiple athletes reach the finals of the sprint events at the Horizon League Championships.
At the outdoor meet, YSU took home fourth, fifth and sixth place in the 200-meter dash on the women's side. For the men, Davis was third and Irwin was fifth in the 100; Adam Kagarise was third in the 400-meter dash and the Guins placed fifth, sixth and seventh in the 200.
At the indoor championships, Davis was second and Irwin placed third in the 200 meters, Davis finished second in the 60-meter dash while Symona Gregory led the women placing fourth in the 60m.
In 2009, Jerrill Hall broke the Horizon League record in the 60m hurdles with a personal-best time 8.22 seconds to capture the title while Breanne Romeo finished in second in the 400m with a time of 58.87 at the indoor meet.
At the outdoor championships, Mark Lipinsky also added a first-place finish in the 110m hurdles while Hall came in second in the event. On the women's side, Romeo was second in the 400m dash (54.97), Yandeh Joh finished second in the 100m hurdles (14.83) and 400m hurdles (1:03.28). The 4x100-meter relay team also was second.
At the 2008 indoor meet, J.R. Hodge outraced the competition with a time of 7.02 seconds in the 60-meter dash to win the League title.
During the season's outdoor circuit, the combination of Emily Wollet, Joh, Kari Kreutzfeld and Romeo won the 4x400m relay with a league-record time of 3:45.72.
His group of sprinters were key contributors to the women's team winning both the indoor and outdoor conference championships during the 2008 slate.
At the indoor championships Romeo placed second in the 400m, seventh in the 200m and anchored YSU's 4x400 relay that finished in second by .01 seconds. Kreutzfeld won the 400m at the event and Katie Betts earned runner-up finishes in the 60m (7.83) and the 200m (25.13).
During the outdoor championships Romeo was named the top Newcomer of the Year after winning the 400m in a first-place time of 55.36. Alisha Anthony, Kreutzfeld, Betts and Darcelle Formby teamed up to win the 4x100m relay. Romeo along with Wollet, Joh and Kreutzfeld were a part of the winning 4x400m relay team.
In his first season in 2007, Joh became the sixth consecutive YSU hurdler to capture the Horizon League title in the 60m hurdles. Kreutzfeld also won the 400m dash.
The success carried on to the outdoor circuit where Aaliyah Gillespie won the 100m hurdles for a third time. Formby had second-place finishes in the 100m and 200m and Betts placed third in the 200m.
On the men's side, Eric Baltputnis to a second-team all-conference sprinter in the indoor 60m. In the outdoor season, Streiner placed third in the 100m and 200m dashes at the Horizon League Championships.
Townsend also serves as the head coach of the Youngstown Striders Track and Field Club, an AAU organization, and has produced numerous state champions. He is also the current sports director for the Lake Erie AAU Track and Field Association.
A reserve tailback for YSU's football team from 1976 to 1978, Townsend was a member of the 1978 team that won the Mid-Continent Conference and earned YSU's first Division II playoff victory. He scored four touchdowns in his three seasons and played under coach Bill Narduzzi.
A 1975 graduate of Youngstown East High School, Townsend has been very active in the community. At YSU he was president of the NAACP, a member of YSU's Student Council and was and the Black United Students Student-of-the-Year in 1978. He was inducted into the Ebony Lifetime Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Townsend graduated from YSU with a bachelor's degree in combined sciences in 1981 and has worked for the Internal Revenue Service since 1979.
He and his wife Beverly have two sons, Dorian and Devin.
