March 1, 2008

Three Individual Wins Set Up Sunday's Championship Showdown

    Kent, Ohio -- Three members of the Youngstown State women's track and field team won individual events to highlight day one and set up a showdown with Milwaukee for the Horizon League Championship on Sunday.
    Bethany Anderson won the weight throw for the third straight year, Alisha Anthony won the long jump and Yandeh Joh won the pentathlon for the Penguins, who currently sit second behind Milwaukee by a narrow seven-point margin.
    With strong showings expected in the shot put and the sprints tomorrow, the Penguins will have an opportunity to surpass the Panthers and win their first indoor league title since 2005.
    The YSU men are tied with Butler for third after the first day, but only nine points separate the men from first-place Milwaukee.
    "Bethany really set the tone for us today with her provisional qualifying distance in the weight throw, and Alisha and Yandeh's performances were obviously huge for us," head coach Brian Gorby said.
    "We really pride ourselves on our team depth, and everybody has stepped up. It's a two-day relay, and today everyone seemed to take the baton and move us up to another level. You can't really ask for a better situation as far as where we stand."
    "Resiliency will be the key for us tomorrow. We have to go home and get some rest and come out tomorrow, focus and do it again."
    Anderson set the YSU and Horizon League record in the weight throw with a provisional-qualifying mark of 63-10 1/2 en route to her third straight title. She'll go for a four-year sweep of the shot put tomorrow when the field events begin at noon.
    Anthony defended her 2007 title by winning the long jump by five inches with a leap of 18-9 1/4. Joh was the top finisher in three out of the five portions of the pentathlon to win the event 173 points.
    Alexis Hall finished second behind Anderson in the weight throw, and Stephanie Jarvis and Amanda Carpin finished third and fourth in the pole vaut.
    On the men's side, Dominic DeFilippo turned in the day's highest finish when a personal-best mark in the weight throw lifted him into second place. Shayne York and Jerrill Hall finished third and fourth in the long jump, and Adam Kagarise turned in the top preliminary times in both the 200m and 400m.
    The awards ceremony honoring Saturday's winners will begin tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. Field events begin at noon, and finals of the running events start at 1 p.m.