June 4, 2009

Merrill Headlines Three Penguins Named Academic All-District IV

    Youngstown -- Thrower Aaron Merrill (Leetonia, Ohio) headlined three Youngstown State track and field athletes who were named CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV on Thursday. Earning second-team Academic All-District honors was thrower Joe Lahmon (Mount Vernon, Ohio) while distance runner Lauren Blase (Boardman, Ohio) was a third-team selection.

    Merrill is the first Penguin track and field athlete, and just second one ever, to be named first-team Academic All-District since Jarrod Davis in 2005-06. That year Davis went on to earn Academic All-America recognition.

    Merrill recently finished in eighth place with a school-record distance of 17.93m in the shot put. Merrill throw was just three spots shy of  automatically qualifying for nationals.