Feb. 28, 2003
YSU Looks to Bring Home First League Championship
Youngstown --
During the past few weeks, Head
Coach Brian Gorby has been preaching
to his athletes "the head and hard
work sets it up - the heart brings
it home." If all goes to plan
and their hearts prevails, the
Youngstown State track and field
team will bring home the first
Horizon League Championship in
school history at the Indoor Track
and Field Championships in
Milwaukee, Wis. this weekend.
Heading into the championships, both the men's and women's
squads have a solid chance of
bringing home the title.
"If we're the healthiest team, we have the best chance to
win," Gorby said.
Gorby, along with his assistant coaches, are looking to
reestablish the tradition of track
and field excellence that the
program had in the Mid-Continent
Conference, winning eight conference
championships from 1994-1997.
Of those eight championships, six
were keyed by Gorby's current
support staff.
"We've made the sacrifices and with sacrifice comes success,"
Gorby said. "It's going to
take a whole team effort to bring
the title and tradition back to
Youngstown."
Leading the way for the men will be Kurt Michaelis, the
defending league champion in the
800-meter run and the mile. In
addition to being a provisional
qualifier for the NCAA Championship
and a three-time Athlete of the
Week, Michaelis will head into the
meet with the top time run this
season in both events and the
second-fastest time in the 1,000.
Nick Smith will also play a key role for the men, competing
in the 1,000, the mile and the
3,000. Smith owns the third
fastest time run this season in the
mile, the seventh fastest in the
3,000 and the tenth fastest in the
1,000. He also finished third
in both the mile and the 3,000 to
earn All-Ohio honors.
In the sprints, Ryan Strzalka holds the sixth fastest time in
the 60 dash while Eugene Harris,
last year's champion in the 60 and
the 200, heads in with the third
fastest time in the 200.
In the field events, Edwin Jackson is heading in sixth in the
long jump while Nick Roberts is
second in the shot put and Jarrod
Davis is fourth in both the shot and
the weight throw.
On the women's side, Jeanna Cunningham will look to continue
her success from last season where
she finished second in the 200 and
third in the 400 en route to being
named Newcomer of the Year.
Heading into the championship meet,
she holds the fourth fastest time in
the 200 and the fifth fastest time
in the 400.
All-Ohioan Aaliyah Gillespie brings the top time in the 60
hurdles and the fourth spot in the
60 dash while Lindsay Frontz owns
the third fastest time in the 1,000.
Emily Schnitkey holds the fifth spot
in the mile, the 3000 and the 5000.
In the field, Lissette Alamo, who finished second in the long
jump and third in the triple jump a
year ago, will head into the meet
holding the second spot in the long
jump. Delores Gaines will look
to defend her title in the weight
throw while Laura Schatz will head
into the meet as the defending
champion in the high jump.
The event kicks off on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. EST with
the long jump and concludes with the
awards presentation on Sunday at
5:15 p.m. |
