Rupe's Horizon League Champions
Eric Rupe is in his 10th season as a member of the Track and Field and Cross Country coaching staff.
In his nine seasons, the women have captured the Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Championships in eight campaigns. The men won the triple crown in 2016-17, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 - Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor HL titles - and again claimed the indoor title in 2020.
At the 2024 Horizon League Cross Country meet, the men dominated placing five runners in the top eight finishers. Hunter Christopher repeated as the league champ to lead the way. For the women, McKinley Fielding placed second at the HL meet. At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the men's team tied its school record for best team finish by coming in ninth. Christopher led the way finishing 11th. The women had a strong performance placing 20th. Following the season, Christopher was named the Horizon League's Athlete of the Year.
The 2025 track season might have been one of the best in program history for the distance runners. Highlighting the efforts were standout Hunter Christopher who received Honorable-Mention All-America honors in the 5,000m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Christopher finished an impressive sixth place at the NCAA East Prelims to advance to the NCAAs for the first time.
At the HL outdoor meet, three different men won the 10,000m, 5,000m, steeplechase. YSU also added a victory in the 800m as well. The women had the second-place performers in the 10,000m and the steeplechase. At the indoor meet, the men cruised to first-place performances in the 3,000m and the 5,000m races. The women won the 5,000m and took second in the mile.
In 2024, the men dominated during the indoor and outdoor season. At the indoor meet, Christopher won the 5,000m while Ryan Meadows won the 3,000m, Sage Vavro won the mile and William Hanchosky was second in the 800m. At the outdoor meet, Christopher won the 10,000m while Meadows was second in the 5,000m. During the cross country season, Christopher won the league race as the Guins repeated as team champions. At the NCAA Great Lakes Regional, the Guins finished a school best ninth. Following the season, Christopher was named the Horizon League's Athlete of the Year.
In 2023, Morgan Cole again led the way for the program. At the Outdoor HL meet, Cole placed second in the 1,500m. During ths season she ran personal-best times in the 1,500m and the 5,000m. At the Indoor HL meet, she was second in the mile while setting the school record in the event on Jan. 13. She also produced career-best times in the 3,000m and 5,000m during the year. At the HL Cross Country Championships, she was runner-up as well.
Cole had one of the most dominate individual years in school history in 2022-23. After winning the HL cross country title in November she won the mile, 3,000m and 5,000m runs in February and took first in the 5,000m and 10,000m races in May. At the HL Indoor meet, YSU had three of the top five finishers in the mile.
On the men's side, Christopher had a breakout indoor season. He broke school records in the 3,000m and 5,000m runs during the year. At the Horizon League Championships, YSU took the top four spots in the 5,000m; went second, third and fifth in the mile and were first, fourth and seventh in the 3,000m. Later at the outdoor meet hosted by YSU, Ryan Meadows finished second in the 10,000m, Keegan Barnette was second in the steeplechase and Tyler Clark led a 2-3-4 finish in the 1,500m.
YSU had one of its most impressive mid-distance and women's distance campaigns in program history in 2022. Two middle distance runners - Sean Peterson (indoors) and Nicole Squatrito (outdoors) were named the Horizon League's Alfreeda Goff Athletes of the Year. It was the second straight year Peterson received the indoor honor. Peterson was also named the YSU Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Eventually, Peterson placed 22nd in the 1,500m run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to earn Honorable-Mention All-America honors.
At the indoor meet, the women dominated winning the 800m, mile, 3,000m and 5,000m thanks to the efforts of Squatrito and Cole. Squatrito won the 800m and the mile while Cole was victorious in the 3,000m and the 5,000m runs. Peterson pulled off what could be a collegiate first winning the 800m for the fifth straight year. He added a the mile championship to his career haul as well. The men added their second consecutive DMR title as well.
At the outdoor meet, Cole became the first Penguin to pull off wins in the 10,000m and the 5,000m at the same league event. Squatrito ended her career with a bang winning her first outdoor 1500m conference title. Soon after the league meet she broke the eight-year school record in the event. Peterson captured both the 800m and 1500m crowns. In the women's 800, YSU went two, three and four as Aiamyia Dudley led the way. Led by Cole, the women had three of the top-six finishers in the 10K.
At the 2021 outdoor meet, Cole became the first Penguin to win the 5,000m run since 2014. Peterson became the first YSU runner since 2004 to win the 1,500m race. Peterson advanced to the NCAA Outdoor East Preliminary round for the first time in his career in the 800m. At the NCAA Prelims, he finished 27th, and 18-spot improvement in the event after entering the preliminary regional meet ranked 45th.
At the indoor meet, the men dominated. YSU won the 800m, mile, 3000m, 5000m and DMR. Peterson, who won the 800m for the fourth straight year, was recognized as the Alfreeda Goff Indoor Track & Field Male Athlete of the Year. Meadows shaved 19 seconds off of his personal-best coming into the meet (15:10.40) and posted a 14:51.00 in the 5000m run to win the league title.
On the cross country side, Chase Easterling won the league title just a week following the Indoor Championships to advance to the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Easterling became just the second runner in school history to advance to the NCAA Championships.
In the 2019-20 indoor season, Rupe helped the Penguins win a pair of Horizon League Indoor Championships and break roughly a 30-year old school record in the 800m. Peterson won the mile for the first time and 800m for the third consecutive year at the league meet. The junior became just the second runner in league history to be a three-time champion in the event. Peterson clocked the second fastest mile time in school history at 4:05.19 at the Penn State National Open and the third quickest 800m time in program history at 1:51.92 at the Clemson Bob Pollock Meet.
Squatrito finished as the runner-up in both the mile and 800m at the league championships. The junior also broke YSU Hall of Famer Becky Rudzik's school record in the 800m when she clocked a time of 2:11.95 at the Iowa State Classic.
Cole carried her momentum from an impressive cross country season into the indoor season where she finished fourth in the 5000m and fifth in the 3000m at the league meet.
During the 2018-19 indoor season, Peterson captured his second consecutive 800m league championship. Peterson also went on to win the 800m at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships after finishing with the third fastest time in program history at 1:51.64. At the outdoor meet, Ryan Sullivan became the first Penguin to win the 10,000m league championship.
Sullivan also broke Rupe’s school record in the 5,000m run when he clocked a time of 14:21.06 at the 125th Penn Relays on April 25. Sullivan capped off the season by qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in the 10,000m.
On the women’s side, Natalie Fleming became the first Penguin in school history to win the 800m at the indoor meet after running the second-fastest time in school history at 2:13.37.
At the 2018 indoor meet, Peterson became the first Penguin to win the 800m at the league championship.
Prior to helping out with YSU, Rupe was a standout member of the Cross Country and Track and Field team for the Penguins.
During Rupe’s Cross Country career, he led the Penguins by placing first at the Horizon League Cross Country Championship with a time of 25:41.24 as a junior. In 2013 he became the first YSU male runner in school history to win a cross country conference championships. He also helped the Penguins to finish second overall at the Horizon League Championships. Rupe placed first in the Disney World Cross Country Classic with a time of 25:05.46 in 2013. He helped the Guins place third at the 2014 Horizon League meet.
Rupe also excelled in distance events during the track and field season. He won the 5,000-meter run at the indoor Horizon League Championships with a time of 14:49.68 as a senior. By winning the 5,000-meter run, Rupe defended his title and became the first repeat champion in the event since Butler’s Gary Blackman in 2003-04. As a junior he won the event in a time of 15:09.25.
In 2014, Rupe helped the Penguins win the Horizon League Outdoor Championship by two first place finishes in the 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter run. He was awarded the Men’s Individual Scoring Award at the HL meet.
Rupe is a native of Cortland, Ohio, and graduated from Maplewood High School. During his high school career, he set the district and school record in the 800m and 1,600m run and was a four-time All-Ohio selection and two-time NAC MVP. He was a two-time state runner-up in the 1,600 in 2009 and 2010, and indoor state champion in the 1,600 in 2009.
