May 29, 2008

Five Guins Set to Compete at NCAA Mideast Regional This Weekend

    Youngstown -- Five members of the Youngstown State track and field program will compete to qualify for nationals at the NCAA Mideast Regional on Friday and Saturday.
    Throwers Bethany Anderson, Joe Lahmon and Aaron Merrill all hit the regional automatic qualifying standard while Harold Jones and Shayne York earned berths by winning an event at the Horizon League Championships.
    The top five finishers in each event automatically gain entry to the NCAA National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, which starts June 11.
    Anderson (Jamestown, N.Y.) is competing at the Mideast Regional for the fourth consecutive year. Last season she posted the best finish by any student-athlete in school history with an eighth-place mark in the hammer. She is seeded 16th in the region and will participate in the second of three flights. She placed 23rd in the hammer in 2006 and 28th in the shot put in 2005.
    Merrill (Leetonia, Ohio) was a regional qualifier as a freshman in 2006 and will compete in the shot put for the second time now as a redshirt sophomore. He finished 22nd as a freshman, and he's thrown more than seven feet further than that mark this season. Merrill is ranked 12th in the field and will throw in the second flight.
    Jones, York and Lahmon will all be competing at the regional for the first time in their careers. Jones is seeded 18th in the 800m, Lahmon is ranked 26th in the hammer and York is seeded 33rd in the long jump. Jones is the first male runner to compete for YSU since Kurt Michaelis ran in the steeplechase in 2004.
    Anderson will be the first student-athlete from YSU to compete with the hammer beginning Friday at 11 a.m., CDT. Live results will be available throughout the meet at flashresults.com.