Youngstown State University Women's Track

Gorby has built one of the elite programs in Ohio, the Horizon League and the Mideast Region. After earning three letters as an athlete from 1987-90, Gorby served as an assistant coach in both cross country and track before being promoted to the helm of the cross country program in August of 1993. He was named head track and field coach in July of the following year. In his 22 seasons, Gorby has led the women's program to 18 conference championships and the men to nine league titles. He has directed the women's team to a pair of Triple Crown's (Cross Country/Indoor/Outdoor) in 2013-14 and 2014-15. The men's squad claimed the Mid-Continent Conference Triple Crown in the 1996-97 season. On the individual level, he has produced seven All-Americans, 19 national qualifiers, eight junior national qualifiers and 61 NCAA Regional qualifiers. He has also won 24 Coach-of-the-Year Awards. After claiming eight Mid-Continent Conference Championships from 1994-2001, the Penguins have continued to reap conference titles after moving into the Horizon League by winning 17 track and field titles (13 women and four men). Gorby has also led the Penguins to 210 individual titles and 20 relay wins in the Horizon League.  Overshadowed by the championship trophies and individual accomplishments, YSU has also finished as runners-up at the league track and field meet 24 times (13 by the men - seven outdoor and six indoor - and 11 by the women - seven indoor and four outdoor). Off the track, more than 166 student-athletes have garnered academic all-league laurels under Gorby (entering the spring 2016 voting). Headlining that group is Aaron Merrill a two-time Academic All-American (2009 and 2010) and Jarrod Davis who earned Academic All-America accolades in 2006.  Emerging on the National Level The YSU track and field program has stepped up on the national stage the past three years. YSU made national headlines in 2014 when thrower Bobby Grace finished third in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in New Mexico. In the spring, Grace (shot put) and Conner Neu (hammer throw) earned second-team All-America honors during the outdoor NCAA meet by finishing 14th and 15th respectively in their events. In 2016, Neu and Chad Zallow advanced to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Neu earned first-team All-America honors with an eighth-place finish in the weight throw while Zallow, just a freshman, was a second-team honoree with a ninth-place finish in the 60m hurdles. In June, Neu earned the third All-America honor of his career placing 13th at the NCAA Outdoor meet in the hammer throw. The Penguins qualified a school-record nine individual event athletes to the NCAA Preliminary round in 2014. Of those, three were distance runners and six were field athletes. YSU followed suit again in 2015 with six NCAA regional qualifiers in 2015 and in 2016. In March 2003, Kurt Michaelis moved the Youngstown State track and field program to a new level by becoming the school's first Division I All-American. Michaelis, who was 12th in the nation entering the meet, placed ninth in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 4:07.79 to become the Guins' first All American. During the outdoor campaign 2010, thrower Danielle Curry became the first YSU woman to advance to the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Curry earned a qualifying spot at regionals and advanced to the meet held in Eugene, Oregon, where she finished 24th. With Gorby as an assistant coach in 1994, Mona Jackson became YSU's first provisional national qualifier in the indoor 55m. In 1997, Laura Thomas became the first-ever YSU cross country athlete to qualify for national competition. After finishing third out of 189 runners at the Great Lakes Regional, she placed 124th with a time of 18:16 at the national meet. Matt Folk became the first male cross country runner to make it to nationals a year later and placed 77th with a time of 31:48.9. Also in 1998, YSU saw its first male athlete provisionally qualify for national competition in track and field as Paul Carter qualified in the 800m. Thomas qualified for nationals again in 1999, this time provisionally in outdoor track and field in the 10,000-meter run. In 2000, Kofi Owusu-Ansah posted a 15th-place finish in the 200m dash at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Davis hit the provisional mark in the weight throw in 2006 and Anderson eclipsed the standard in 2007. Since the inception of the NCAA Mideast Regional, which has now become the NCAA Preliminary Round, in 2003, YSU has had student-athletes qualify 61 times by hitting the required mark or winning a Horizon League outdoor title. In 2007, Bethany Anderson posted the highest-ever finish by a YSU female at the meet by finishing eighth in the hammer. A year earlier, a program high 11 different student-athletes competed at the regional, including the relays. Michaelis placed 10th in the 1,500m as a member of YSU's first qualifying class along with Eugene Harris, Delores Gaines and Beth Hochstetler. His 10th-place finish still ranks as the top for a YSU student-athlete in a running event, and he is the only Penguin to compete in two individual events during the same regional. In 2013, shot putter John Seaver finished 13th, one spot from qualifying for the NCAA meet while sprinter Ciara Jarrett placed in the top 24 in the 200m. The nine individual qualifiers in 2014 was a school mark. Gorby has also coached six student-athletes who have qualified for the Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In 2002, Emily Schnitkey finished 16th in the 5,000m at Stanford University as the program's first qualifier. Aaron Merrill placed 13th in the shot put and Katie Betts finished sixth in her heat and 32nd overall in the 200m as two Penguins qualified for the first time in school history in 2006. In 2008, Breanne Romeo qualified in the 400-meter dash, in 2009 Kaitlyn Griffith participated in the hammer throw and in 2010, Samantha Hamilton ran in the steeplechase. On to the Horizon Since Youngstown State joined the Horizon League in the 2001-02 school year, Gorby has led the Penguins to 18 conference crowns, 24 runner-up team finishes and 88 special individual awards at the conference meet. Since the fall of 2013, the men's and women's programs have won or finished second in 16 of 18 Horizon League Championship events, which includes cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. YSU has eight championships and eight runner-up finishes in that span. The men doubled their victory total in the 2016 winning both the indoor and outdoor championships. The indoor championship was won in impressive fashion as the Penguins claimed their first indoor title since 2003 by 65 points. The outdoor meet featured another thriller against Milwaukee, but YSU came out on top by a 183-181 margin. In the fall, the men's cross country team placed second by one point as Austin McLean became the second Penguin in three years to win the event. The women had some tough luck during the indoor meet finishing second behind Oakland, but rebounded to win their third straight outdoor crown for the second time in school history. Nina Grambling capped off her impressive YSU career winning the 100m for the fourth time and the 200m for the third time as the Penguins cruised to the title. During the 2013-14 campaign, the women won their first-ever Horizon League Cross Country title in the fall as YSU hosted the event in Boardman. The men took second as Eric Rupe became the first Penguin to win the individual title at the event. In March, the women had an impressive all-around performance to claim the indoor championships by outscoring Detroit by 80 points at the WATTS. The men dropped a back-and-forth battle with Milwaukee to finish second. The women had six individuals win seven events while the men had four athletes win five titles. In May, both the men and women came through with league-title victories in the first-ever title meet hosted at Farmers National Bank Field in Youngstown. The women once again blistered the field winning by 69 points. The men built a big lead then used a late push to earn their first-ever Outdoor Horizon League crown. The Penguins knocked off 10-time defending champion Milwaukee by just 10 points, which tied for the closest margin of victory in the events history.  The women's program was one of just 11 nationwide to win the Triple Crown in 2013-14. The track and field/cross country programs to sweep the three titles in the same year were SMU, Coastal Carolina, Boston, Alabama State, North Dakota State, Villanova, Northern Arizona, Liberty, Navy, UT Arlington and YSU. In 2014-15, the women had to travel all over the Midwest to earn their second consecutive Triple Crown. In November, YSU won its second straight Horizon League Cross Country title in Wisconsin. In February/March, the Penguins repeated as Indoor league champions. And then in May in Michigan, YSU capped off another banner year earning its third outdoor title in the past four years and second in a row. The men had two narrow second-place finishes behind Milwaukee at the Indoor and Outdoor championships as the deciding race came down to the last event both times.  Youngstown State and Alabama State are the only two women's programs to win all six titles during that two-year stretch. In 2012-13, the women placed second at the outdoor championships and third at the indoor meet. The men were third at both the indoor and outdoor events. Seven Penguins won indoor event titles while eight won an outdoor crown. Jarrett and Seaver each advanced to the NCAA Prelims with Seaver just missing a spot at the NCAA meet by one place. The women were third at the conference's cross country championship. Youngstown State had a solid all-around campaign in 2011-12. In the fall, the women's cross country squad posted a second-place finish at the conference meet. Leading the way were first-team all-league finishers Hamilton (third) and Anna Pompeo (fifth). The new Watson and Tressel Training Site, on the location of the former YSU Outdoor Track complex, hosted the 2012 Indoor Horizon League Championships. The women had a solid second-place performance while the men were third. During the outdoor campaign, the women won their first conference title since 2008 while the men used a solid performance to place second. The Penguins used an impressive final day push to beat Milwaukee by 43 points.  The Penguins had four members appear in the NCAA East Preliminary Round - Hamilton, Allison Roth, Griffith and Grace. YSU won nine individual events on the women's side at the 2011 Outdoor Championships while the men won five. The team's were second in both and the women lost to Milwaukee by just three points. The women's squad in 2008 took both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. Bethany Anderson was named Field MVP, top newcomers Breanne Romeo and Danielle Curry and Alisha Anthony helped lead a second-day surge that gave the Youngstown State women's track and field team its first Horizon League Indoor Track and Field title since 2005, edging Milwaukee by 11 points. At the Outdoor Championships, Anthony and Romeo were named the top newcomers, as the Penguins had a solid all-around effort to capture the Horizon League crown. Anthony won the triple jump with a school-record mark of 39-4 and finished second in the long jump. Romeo was one-hundredth of a second from tying the League record in the 400m, turning in a first-place time of 55.36. In May 2006, the Penguins trailed by 26 points heading into the final day. A strong effort from the sprint group and three specialty award winners helped YSU score 163 points on the final day to win by 11. Danielle Bolt was named the meet's Outstanding Running Performer after winning the 100m dash, anchoring the winning 4x100m relay and placing fourth in the 200m. Anderson won the shot put and the hammer to earn Outstanding Field Performer honors, and Betts was named Running Newcomer of the Year after placing second in the 200m, third in the 100m and running in both winning relays. A year earlier the Penguins sat third after day one before rallying to win their fourth straight Horizon League Track and Field title behind two individual victories from Emily Schnitkey and one from Anderson. Schnitkey won the steeplechase with a time of and the 5,000 while Anderson set two school records and won the shot put to earn Field Newcomer of the Year honors. YSU set three championship records at the meet with Aaliyah Gillespie setting the conference record the 100m hurdles, Anderson topping the standard in the shot put and Jeanna Cunningham, Yandeh Joh, Leslie Johnson and Emily Wollet setting the 4x400m record. The Penguins turned in a dominating performance at the 2005 indoor meet, winning the title by 62 points and collecting three out of four individual awards. Cunningham was named Track Performer of the Meet and freshman Carly Youlton was named Field Performer of the Meet. Anderson was named the league's Field Newcomer of the Year. YSU won eight different events as Bolt and Youlton won two events apiece while Cunningham, Gillespie and Anderson won one event. Cunningham and Gillespie also teamed up with Joh and Wollet to win the 4x400m relay. Bolt set the conference record in the 60m and Anderson set the standard in the shot put. At the 2004 Horizon League Outdoor Championship, the Penguins pulled together through a season full of injuries and adversity to top Milwaukee by 18 points. Bolt and Gillespie won three events apiece to pace the winning effort. Leslie Johnson was part of both winning relays to cap off a year in which she was named the Vindicator/YSU Student-Athlete of the Year. In the 2004 indoor campaign, the women picked up the program's first conference track title since 1996. Bolt highlighted the championship meet as she was named Newcomer of the Year after winning the 60m and running in the winning 4x400m relay. From 2004 through 2006, the women's track and field squad won five out of a possible six Horizon League Championships. Included in that stretch was a string of four straight from the 2004 indoor title to the 2005 outdoor crown. Gorby also directed the mens track and field team to the 2003 Horizon League Indoor Championship, which was YSU's first Horizon League crown in any sport. Eugene Harris swept the sprinting events for the second straight year at the meet while Michaelis was the league champion in the mile. During the 2003 outdoor season Harris set conference records in the 100m and 200m to be named Outstanding Running Performer. Michaelis earned the same honor a year later as he ended his career with nine individual Horizon League titles. Success in the Mid-Con Before joining the Horizon League, Gorby led the Penguins to eight Mid-Continent Conference Championships in a four-year span. The men won cross country championships in 1994, 1995 and 1996, while claiming both the indoor and outdoor titles in 1997. The women's squad won the league title in cross country in 1997, the indoor track and field title in 1996 and the outdoor track and field title in 1997. Gorby also coached three athletes of the year and four newcomers of the year in the Mid-Con. In 1997, Thomas and Andrea Cohol paced the women's cross country team to its first-ever conference crown. Thomas became YSU's first individual cross country champion and Cohol finished third as the Penguins won by an impressive 16 points over Southern Utah. In the spring of 1997, Thomas and Marcella Scaife each won two events as the Penguins won the outdoor track and field title by narrowly edging Western Illinois by 0.83 points. The 1996 women's indoor squad won YSU's first conference crown in track and field as Scaife won two events. The 1996-97 academic year was a dominant one for the men's program as it won conference titles in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Folk finished third at the cross country championship meet while Chris Emory and Mark Brady both finished in the top 10 to start the winning trend. Bob Bond won two events to lead the Penguins to the indoor crown, and YSU captured in the outdoor title by defeated Troy State by a lopsided score of 271.5-129. Bond, Owusu-Ansah and Jason Pope each won two events apiece. In 1994, YSU won the Mid-Con Cross Country title behind Brady's second-place finish and a sixth-place effort from Donn Craig. Brady's runner-up placing is still the best by a male cross country runner in school history. Brady placed fifth a year later in 1995 while Craig and Folk finished in the top 10 to lead YSU to another conference crown. Personal As a noted distance runner himself, Gorby has competed in several marathons and competes in races throughout the year. His personal-best time of 2 hours and 26 minutes still ranks him as one of the top runners in the nation. He received his doctorate in educational leadership in 2003 from Youngstown State after earning a bachelors degree in education in 1990 and a masters in physical education in 1994. Gorby and his wife, Charlotte, reside in Austintown, with their daughter Jersey and their son Beau.

Brumfield has coached an impressive 16 conference champions. In her short tenure, the Penguins have won nine high jump titles, six long jump titles and one triple jump crown on both the indoor and outdoor circuits since 2012.  In 2016, Morales captured his third consecutive outdoor Horizon League title in the long jump while freshman Chontel Fils won the outdoor long jump and indoor triple jump titles and Savannah Osborne claimed her first-ever indoor long jump crown. On two occasions, Morales cleared a height of 2.15m during the outdoor season which broke a school record that had stood for 26 years. He advanced to the NCAA East Premlinaries for the third straight year. The YSU men claimed both the indoor and outdoor league championships while the women took first at the outdoor meet. In 2015, Morales defended his outdoor Horizon League title in the high jump while Mackenzie Sturtz defended her indoor crown. Not to be outdone, Morales set the school record in the indoor high jump at 2.11m, which came at the conference championship as he finished second. Nina Grambling added her second straight outdoor Horizon League long jump title as well. The women claimed both the indoor and outdoor Horizon League titles for the second consecutive year while the men were close runners up in both. At the 2014 outdoor Horizon League Championships, the Guins claimed three titles as Morales won the high jump, Jay Jakovina won the long jump and Grambling won her first long jump crown. Morales was named the HL Field Newcomer of the Year while Jakovina became just the second Penguin and first since 2008 to win the long jump. Grambling also became the second YSU female long jumper to win an outdoor crown. Jakovina and Morales advanced to the NCAA Preliminaries in the high jump while in the spring, the men's and women's programs both claimed Horizon League team crowns. At the 2014 indoor meet, the YSU women won two of the three jumping events. Ciara Jarrett won the first field event of her career in the long jump while Sturtz took home the high jump title. It marked the Guins' first long jump title in five years while Sturtz continued the dominance in the high jump as YSU has won six straight titles. The women won the team championship while the men placed second. In 2013, YSU won both the men's and women's high jump at the Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Championships while the long and triple jumpers improved their distances throughout both seasons. During the indoor championships, Katrina Rettburg repeated as the women's high jump champion while Jakovina won the title in his first career meet. Jakovina was tabbed the Field Newcomer of the Meet for his performance. Additionally, Leanna Hartsough placed second in the high jump and Jarrett was third in the long jump at the indoor meet. At the outdoor championships, Ashley Wagner won the first high jump championship of her career while Jakovina took home the men's title. Both were named Outstanding Field Newcomer's of the Meet. Jarrett again was third in the long jump as did Dorian Davis on the men's side. Prior to joining the YSU staff, she spent three years as an assistant coach for the track and field programs at Millersville. She brings experience in coaching and competition in the sport focusing primarily on jumps and sprints. Brumfield's first coaching stint as a track and field assistant coach for Utica College (N.Y.). While at Utica, she helped develop and implemented new long, triple and high jump workouts. In doing so, she guided conference champions in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and high jump. She also coached high jump, long jump and triple jump ECAC qualifiers all in her first year of coaching. In her first season at Millersville (2010-11), Brumfield guided the jumpers to the PSAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships. In the indoor season she guided four jumpers to the championships. During the outdoor season six men and five women made the championships in jumps including four men and five women in the long jump event. As an athlete, Brumfield was a member of the track and field team at Mansfield University from 2005-08. From 2006-08, she was awarded team captain honors by her coaches and teammates. She holds Mansfields indoor and outdoor high jump records. In 2005, Brumfield was the PSAC Outdoor High Jump runner-up. Two years later she qualified for the Division II National Indoor Championships in high jump. In 2008, she collected PSAC Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Most Valuable Championships Athlete honors on top of obtaining Winter and Spring Athlete of the Year. Brumfield earned her bachelor's degree in mass communication with an emphasis in broadcasting and public relations at Mansfield in 2008.

Kent-Strollo's Horizon League Champions Former Youngstown State track and field/cross country runner Nicole Kent-Strollo serves in two capacities at her alma mater. She was named YSUs Student-Athlete Wellness and Development Coordinator in July 2016, and she has been an assistant coach with the track and field program since 2012. Kent Strollo had previously been with the Penguins as an adviser and assistant coach in the mid-1990s. While Kent-Strollo has been involved with student-athlete affairs as well as serving as co-adviser of SAAC and FLIGHT for several years, her title officially changed to Student-Athlete Welfare and Development Coordinator in July 2016. A board-certified Nurse Practitioner, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and member of the faculty in YSU's Department of Nursing, Kent-Strollo is responsible for development and implementation of Student-Athlete Welfare protocols, Individualized Wellness Plans for at risk individuals, all educational programming and departmental community service and outreach. In the past three years, the women's track and field team has won five conference titles while the women's cross country team has won a pair of crowns. The men have two outdoor crowns (2014 and 2016), an indoor championship (2016) and three second-place finishes while the men's cross country program has been second twice and third on another occasion. On the individual level, Kent-Strollo has coached 10 Horizon League champions. In 2016, Ryan Sullivan broke the school record in the 10,000m run by nine seconds. The mark had stood for 18 years before Sullivan eclipsed the time on April 1. In 2015, Austin McLean and Eric Rupe provided a strong 1-2 punch for the men while the women used a veteran lineup to win the cross country title in the fall. At the outdoor meet, Rupe won the steeplechase with McLean taking second. At the indoor league championships, McLean won the mile and the 3,000 meters while Rupe picked up his second straight win in the 5,000m. Rupe and McLean qualified for the NCAA Preliminary round in the steeplechase for the second straight year. For his efforts during the indoor season, McLean was the Horizon League's Athlete of the Year. At the league cross country meet, YSU's women won by 13 points with its top five all finishing in the top 26 of the race. During the 2013-14 year, she helped the Penguins to four team conference titles and two runner-up finishes. The women won all three conference crowns earning the cross country and indoor and outdoor crowns. The men won their first-ever outdoor crown and placed second in the indoor meet and at the cross country championships. The outdoor season saw three distance runners advance to the NCAA Preliminary round as McLean and Rupe competed in the steeplechase and Samantha Hamilton advanced in the 10,000 meter run. McLean placed 18th in the steeplechase and was just four seconds shy of advancing to the NCAA finals. At the Horizon League outdoor meet it was McLean and Rupe who clinched the men's title with a one-two finish in the 5,000-meter run during the last individual event. Rupe took first while McLean was second as the duo flipped their finishes in the steeplechase. Hamilton had an outstanding meet winning the 10,000m and the 5,000m. She was named the Athlete of the Year and Runner of the Meet for her efforts. At the HL Indoor event, Rupe won the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs becoming just the third Horizon League runner to win both events at the same meet. Rupe was also second in the mile while McLean was a runner-up to Rupe in the 5,000. Hamilton blistered the field in the 5,000-meter run winning by nearly 42 seconds. McKinsie Klim was second and Michelle Klim placed third in the 5,000m giving the Guins the top-three finishers. At the 2013 Horizon League Cross Country in Boardman, the women won their first-ever league crown. Anna Pompeo was second, Hamilton was fourth and Klim was fifth. Klim was named the Freshman of the Year for her performance. YSU beat UIC by 22 points to claim the title. The men were second, but Rupe became the first YSU male runner to win the individual title. McLean was fifth and Nick Gliha finished 12th. In 2013, YSU had strong performances in the 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter and steeplechase at both conference meets. At the outdoor meet, Brittany Stockmaster won the 3,000-meter steeplechase by almost two seconds. McLean and Gliha finished in the top eight in the 5,000m while Monica Ciarniello was eighth in the event. In the 10,000m, Gliha was fourth for the men while Katie Heney was seventh for the women. At the indoor meet, Pompeo was fourth in the 3,000-meter run and 5,000m runs. Additionally, the women's cross country team placed third in the fall of 2012. Prior to rejoining YSU's staff, Kent-Strollo established and coached various teams at the elementary, middle and high school levels while working in private practice as a nurse practioner. She was a four-year letter winner at YSU from 1989-94 for the cross country and track and field programs, serving as a captain for both teams her senior campaign. Coach Kent-Strollo earned her BSN degree from YSU in 1994 and received her MSN/NP degree from Kent State in 2002. She is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Educational Leadership/Student Personnel Services from the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kent. Her proposed dissertation will look at mental health issues in student-athletes. Nicole, and her husband Ron, reside in Austintown. They have two children, Ryan and Rachel. Ryan is a student-athlete on the YSU men's basketball team while Rachel is an education major at Youngstown State.

Lippert is in his second season as a member of the Track and Field coaching staff. Lippert had an impressive first year as throws coach for the YSU Track and Field program in 2015-16. YSU's Conner Neu earned first-team NCAA All-America honors in the weight throw during the indoor campaign and second-team NCAA All-America accolades in the hammer throw in outdoor. YSU throwers won all four Horizon League indoor crowns and three Penguins combined to win four titles at the outdoor meet. In two other outdoor throwing events, YSU individuals were second. Neu placed eighth at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a toss of 21.47 meters in the weight throw. He is just the third indoor first-team All-American in school history. In June, Neu had the best outdoor finish by a Penguins track and field athlete in school history by placing 13th in the hammer throw with a toss of 66.33m.  Corbett had an impressive year on the women's side with four titles and a second-place finish. She swept the indoor events winning the weight throw and the shot put. Outdoors she won the shot put and discus while finishing second in the hammer throw. Ryan Booth swept the conference shot put titles winning both during the indoor and outdoor season.  Booth, Corbett and Neu all competed at the NCAA East Preliminary competition. Prior to joining YSU, Lippert worked with the powerhouse Arkansas Razorbacks Track and Field program for the 2014-15 season. He took over the reins after a month as the Throws Coach and strength and conditioning coordinator. In 2015, Lippert helped coach the University of Arkansas mens team to a third-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championship. He guided Devin Randall, who qualified for the NCAA West Regional meet in the shot put and discus, and also broke the school record in the hammer throw. Additionally, he helped Nathanael Franks to finish in 15th place in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor meet. In the same season, he coached Sam Kempka and Jeff Rogers whom qualified for the USATF Junior National Championships in the shot put. During the 2013 season, Lippert served as a throws coach at Western Illinois. In his one campaign with the Leathernecks, Nathaniel Marshall qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the hammer throw. Marshall broke the Summit League record in the weight throw and finished the season ranked 24th in the country. Lippert earned Academic All-Summit League honors during the 2008-09 season at Western Illinois and also was named Winter/Spring Academic All-Summit League in 2012. He also was a three-time Academic All-Summit League honoree and finished in the top 10 several times at the Summit League Track and Field Championships in the shot put and weight throw. As a senior, Lippert placed ninth in the shot put at the Summit League Indoor Championships and finished 10th in the weight throw. Lippert earned a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science in 2013 from Western Illinois. He earned his master's of education in educational and counseling psychology from the University of Missouri in 2015. In 2016, Lippert became a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. 

Penniman's Horizon League Champions Rick Penniman, a former Youngstown State standout multi-events athlete, has steadily moved YSU's pole vaulting program toward the top of the country in his tenure as an assistant coach. Since 2021, he has taken the Penguins program to new heights with multiple NCAA regional participants and an impressive run of Horizon League Championships. Overall, his vaulters have won 28 conference championships while an additional 27 times they have been a conference runner up. The Guins have won 18 of the last 20 combined vaulting titles. In 2025, Melana Schumaker won the women's Horizon League indoor title while Ainsley Hamsher won the outdoor league crown. At the HL outdoor meet, YSU took the top three spots on the podium. Hamsher advanced to the NCAA East Prelims for the first time in her career. Sophomore Lukas Lang continued YSU's run of success on the men's side winning both the HL indoor and outdoor crowns. In 2024, four Guins advanced to the NCAA East Prelims during the outdoor campaign. For the men, Blake Sifferlin and Dorian Chaigneau finished in the top 20. For the women, Erin Bogard was 18th while Schumaker placed 28th in her NCAA debut. On the Horizon League level, the Penguins continued to dominate. At the outdoor league meet, the women finished first through fifth as Schumaker won her first outdoor title. The men took the top three spots and added a fifth and sixth place finish as Chaigneau won his first HL title. At the indoor league meet, the women took the top five spots again at the meet as Schumaker collected her first-ever HL indoor title. The men took spots 1-4 with Sifferlin claiming his first indoor crown. Bogard added to her impressive career with an outdoor school record of 4.30m at the Miami Hurricanes Alumni Invitational. In 2023, Chaigneau claimed second-team NCAA Indoor and Outdoor All-America honors, Wyatt Lefker earned second-team Indoor All-America accolades while Bogard earned honorable-mention Outdoor All-America recognition. At the NCAA Indoor meet, Chaigneau was ninth and later finished 12th at the outdoor meet. At his first-ever NCAA indoor meet, Lefker placed 15th while Bogard had a solid 19th-place effort at the outdoor meet. The 2023 campaign saw both the men's and women's records eclipsed, earned four All-America honors and claimed three Horizon League Championships.  At the indoor Horizon League championships, Lefker won his first career title while Chaigneau was third and newcomer Blake Sifferlin was fourth. During the year, both Lefker and Chaigneau cleared 5.51m, a school record, on the same day to move onto the NCAA meet. For the women, Schumaker and Emma Etzwiler shared second-place honors. At the Outdoor Horizon League Championships, the Guins were dominate. Lefker won his fourth consecutive outdoor title while Chaigneau was second and Sifferlin third. On the women's side, Bogard won for the third straight time the Guins also finished third and had a pair tie for fourth. Lefker set a new school record of 5.51m in early April and Bogard set a new women's mark of 4.20m in early May. At the NCAA East Prelims, Chaigneau cleared 5.40m to finish tied for fourth while Bogard's mark of 4.12m tied her for 11th place as both athletes advanced to the NCAA meet. Lefker cleared 5.30m, but finished in 14th position. Starting in the spring of 2022, the program showed it was getting ready to take off. YSU swept the men's and women's outdoor belts and set school records in each campaign.  At the outdoor championships, Lefker recorded a school and conference-record mark of 5.25m at the Horizon League meet. Bogard set her own school mark of 4.05m to take the title. It was her second straight outdoor league title and third title in the career of Lefker. On the women's side, YSU placed first, second, fourth and fifth. The men earned the top two spots on the podium.  Both advanced to the NCAA East Prelims where Lefker cleared a new-school-best 5.29m to finish third and become the first pole vaulter in school history to advance to the NCAA Championships. He finished 22nd at Eugene, Oregon, claiming honorable-mention All-America status. At the indoor championships, Lefker was sidelined, but the victory beat went on as freshman Eli Nelson busted out a mark of 4.90m to take the crown. Bogard and Katlyn Griffie tied for second place while Sydney Walker was fourth. During the 2021 indoor slate, Lefker won his second consecutive pole vault title, clearing 4.60m at the Horizon League Indoor Championships. Lefker becomes the second Penguin to win back-to-back Horizon League titles in the event. Bogard set a new indoor Horizon League and school-record in the women's pole vault, clearing 4.00m and bringing the event title back to Youngstown for the first time since 2018. The previous record was 3.81m, set in 2019. Bogard was named Women's Championship Outstanding Field Performer at the HL Indoor meet. On the outdoor circuit, Lefker extended YSU's victory run after he cleared 4.87m on his final attempt to earn the event victory. He later finished 23rd out of 48 entries in the men's pole vault competition at the NCAA East Preliminaries. Bogard cleared 4.01m in the pole vault to not only uplift her previous school record, but also set a new facility record in the process en route to an event title. Bogard claimed YSU's first event victory since 2015 and just the second in school history. Bogard became the first women's pole vaulter in school history to advance to the NCAA Regionals. In 2020, despite losing two-time indoor champion Dylan Latone, Penniman helped the Penguins maintain their presence atop of the Horizon League. On the men's side, Lefker captured the indoor title after clearing the bar at 4.80m and Blaine Brokschmidt closed out an campaign with a runner-up finish.  Lefker initially broke the school record with a height of 4.85m at the season-opening YSU Icebreaker but the program record was ultimately broken by Brokschmidt on Feb. 15 when he cleared the bar at 4.92m at the Kent State Doug Raymond National Qualifier. In 2019, the men had an excellent year sweeping both the indoor and outdoor Horizon League titles. At the indoor league championship, Latone captured his second consecutive title while Jett Murphy was the runner-up and Macklin Rose finished third.  During the outdoor season, Lefker secured the title (which was held at the WATTS), Latone finished second and Rose took third again. Lefker set the school record in the pole vault on May 10 when he cleared the bar at 5.01m at the Harrison Dillard Twilight. Lefker went on to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round. For the women, four of the top eight finishers at the indoor league meet were Penguins as Shelby Marken lead the way with a fourth place finish. At the outdoor meet, Marken finished as the runner-up while also breaking the school record after clearing the bar 3.75m. Trebella and Griffie finished in a tie for fourth while Denise Machamer was eighth.  In 2018, Latone had a tremendous year sweeping the indoor and outdoor events. At the Indoor meet he cleared the bar at 4.45m and outdoors had a height of 4.71m. At the indoor meet, the men placed first, second and fourth. For the women, five of the top seven finishers were Penguins as Trebella led the way. At the outdoor meet, the women were third, fourth and fifth. At the outdoor meet, Latone was first followed by Brock Wooten who was third. The Penguins' men's and women's teams swept the championships in 2017 winning both the indoor and outdoor meets. In 2018, the women won the indoor and outdoor crowns once again while the men were in indoor champion. It was the men's first outdoor victory in 11 years. Latone won the outdoor title (which was held at the WATTS) clearing the bar at 4.80m. For the women, Sarina Mauerman and Caitlyn Trebella were third and fourth. Indoors the women placed fourth through seventh while the men had the fourth and fifth-place finishers.  In 2016, Latone finished second in the event at both the indoor and outdoor conference championships. At the outdoor event, Mauerman and Trebella each cleared a then-school-best height of 3.57m. The Penguins's men's program won both the indoor and outdoor conference championships in 2016 while the women took first in the outdoor meet after a runner-up finish indoors. The Penguins had a conference champion in the two previous years on the women's side. In 2015, Hannah Ropp ended her career with her first league title during the outdoor slate. The year prior, Nicole Waibel won the program's first pole vault title in eight years during the indoor season. Ropp, who was third in the indoor season and had a previous-best second-place finish in 2013, won the outdoor Horizon League title clearing the bar at 3.50 meters. That mark set a then YSU school record eclipsing a mark that had stood since 2008. As a team the YSU women won both the indoor and outdoor league titles for the second straight year while the men placed second in both.  Also placing in the top five in 2015 were Mauerman (fourth in outdoor and indoor) and Garrett Mathias (third in outdoor and fifth indoors). In 2014, Waibel took home the indoor Horizon League pole vault crown. She was named the HL Field Freshman of the Year for her efforts. During the year she set a school record in the event with clearing a height of 3.89 meters. As a team, the YSU women won both the indoor and outdoor crowns while the men claimed their first-ever Horizon League Outdoor title. In 2013, Garrett Mathias was third at the Outdoor Horizon League Championships and fourth at the indoor meet. Ropp led the way for the women at the indoor championships with a second-place finish. She set the indoor school mark clearing the bar at 3.50 meters at the league meet. Ligore, Ropp and Brianna Wise all had career-best indoor marks during the 2013 slate, clearing at least 3.20 meters (10 feet, six inches). In the outdoor campaign, Ropp set the school record of 3.50m (11-5 3/4) at the Raleigh Relays and Ligore cleared a career-best 10-10 at the Horizon League Championships. During the 2012 slate, Johnny Copley set school marks in the event during both the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Copley eclipsed 4.77 meters during the outdoor slate and cleared a height of 4.80 meters during the indoor campaign. Copley was second at the indoor league meet while finishing third at the outdoor championships. He had two second-place finishes at the league meet during his career. In 2011, Copley was third at the outdoor Horizon League Championships and finished fifth during the indoor meet. In 2010, Stephanie Jarvis was fifth in the pole vault at the indoor league meet and YSU had two women finish in the top seven of the event in the outdoor event. During the 2009 season, Penniman coached a runner-up in the outdoor championships and a second-place finisher at the indoor meet. Copley was a second-place performer at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships while Jarvis finished second at the indoor league meet. Jarvis ended the season with a fourth-place finish at the outdoor HL Championships while fellow vaulter Amanda Carpin improved her previous best marks by placing third at the Indoor Championships and sixth at the league's Outdoor Championships. Copley established a new school record during the year breaking the old mark set by Derek Riker in 2006. The 2007-08 season, Copley took fourth at both the Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Championships while Jarvis went on to finish third in the pole vault with a school-record mark of 11-1 3/4 at the Horizon League Championships. Carpin finished fourth at the Horizon League Indoor Meet, while Darla Wilson also recorded a personal-best mark at the Horizon League Indoor Championships, finishing fourth. In 2006, Jarvis set the school record during the outdoor season with a height of 11-1 1/2 at the Horizon League Championships to earn second-team all-league honors. In addition, Riker became Penniman's first conference champion when he won the pole vault during the 2004 indoor season and repeated the accomplishment at the 2006 Horizon League Outdoor Championships. Penniman spent his first three seasons as the hurdles and jumpers coach. During that span, Kelly Leonard won the Horizon League indoor hurdles title in 2002 and Laura Schatz was the high jump champion. Leonard repeated in the outdoor season and won the 100m hurdles. As a student-athlete, Penniman was a member of YSU's first Mid-Continent Conference Championship team in 1997. He ranks seventh in YSU history in the pole vault (outdoor) and fourth all-time in the decathlon. Penniman graduated from YSU in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in Speech Communications. He received his USATF Level One coaching certification in April of 2005. He is also employed at Bank of America in Beachwood and resides in Broadview Heights. He and his wife, Wendy, have a son, Beau, and a daughter, Molly.

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.