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May 18, 2004
Penguins Sign Five State Champions to 2005 Squad
Youngstown
-- Five
Ohio state champions and two
throwers have signed letters of
intent to continue their academic
and athletic careers at Youngstown
State, head coach Brian Gorby
announced.
State long jump champion Yandeh Joh and thrower Bethany
Anderson will be added to the 2005
women's squad while state champions
Richard D. (R.D.) Goodright, Tyler
Barga, John Sheppard and Dave
Medicus and thrower Joe Lehman will
compete on the men's team.
Joh, was the 2004 state champion in the long jump, is one of
the top 10 high school jumpers in
the nation as she owns a
personal-best mark of 19 feet, 1
inch in the event. The Regina High
School product has also posted times
of 12.23 seconds in the 100, 57.48
in the 400 and 2:15 in the 800.
"Yandeh has tremendous athletic ability and range and will be
an instant impact within the Horizon
League as we build on our
championships," Gorby said. "She has
the capabilities to be a national
qualifier within a couple of years."
Anderson, a native of Southwestern, N.Y., was the state
runner-up in the shot and
discus. She has a personal-best
mark of 41-10 in the shot and 129-0
in the discus.
"Bethany has the potential and physical ability to improve
two to four feet within a couple of
years with additional strength
training," throwers coach Shawn
Cobey said. "She is a great fit for
our program."
The Penguins will look to give their middle distance a lift
on the men's side with two state
champion milers and a state champion
in the 800.
Goodright, a Wooster High School product, was the state
champion in the 2004 indoor
1,600-meters and has a personal-best
time of 4:19 in the mile. He is
also ranked as the 45th-fastest 800
runner across the nation as he has a
personal-best time of 1:55.8 in the
event.
"We are excited about the drive and determination that R.D.
will bring to the program," Gorby
said. "With the departure of
All-American Kurt Michaelis, R.D.
will have some big shoes to
fill. But based on his winning
results this season, he has the
ability and drive to improve and
maintain our middle distance success
at a national level within a couple
years."
Joining Goodright will be Barga from Versailles High
School. Barga won the state title
in the 1,600 in 2003 and will come
into YSU with one of the fastest
incoming mile times (4:15.62) in the
program's history. He has also
recorded personal-best marks of 1:58
in the 800 and 9:44 in the 3,200.
"Tyler has a great ability to step up big at championship
time at the end of the year when it
counts," Gorby said. "This ability
should be a great help at the
Horizon League Championships over
the next four years."
Also joining the middle distance squad will be Sheppard from
Firelands High School. Sheppard
posted a time of 1:55.07 at the 2003
state championship to win the state
title.
"John also steps up in championship situations and will be
counted on to run big for us in the
800, 1000 and the relays," Gorby
said. "He is a great team guy and
will be looked to for leadership in
the future."
Lehaman, a Mount Vernon High School thrower, has a
personal-best mark of 167-0 in the
discus and 53-10 in the shot put
while Medicus, an Austintown Fitch
product, while Medicus won the
Division I indoor pole vault title
with a mark of 14-0.
"Joe has tremendous athletic and physical capabilities to be
a force in the Horizon League within
two years," Gorby said. "Dave has
the ability to contribute right away
at the Horizon League level." |
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