Oct. 26, 2007

Cross Country Squads Set to Compete at Horizon League Championships

    Youngstown -- The Youngstown State cross country teams will race in the Horizon League Championships on Saturday afternoon at Sunset Hills Park in Valparaiso, Ind. The gun will go off at noon (Eastern) for the women's 5K race, and the men's 8K will begin at 1 p.m.
    Both squads have been resting for the past three weeks in preparation for the meet. Last season, the YSU men's team finished fifth while the women's squad placed sixth.
    The men's cross country team has gotten a lift all season from a talented group of freshman. Freshman Jim Ramson, a Poland High graduate, has been the team's top finisher twice, including the last meet at the All-Ohio Championships. Jake Lape from Boardman also finished first for YSU at the Iona Meet of Champions and was named the Horizon League Athlete of the Week for his efforts.
    Junior Dan Nemergut from South Range High was the top finisher at the Notre Dame Invitational. He will join senior R.D. Goodright as the only upperclassmen to compete.
    The women's team is also led by a freshman from a local high school. Kayla Whitmer, a graduate of South Range High, has finished first on the team in both meets in which she has run. Lauren Blase, a sophomore from Niles, and sophomore Dawn Goodwin led YSU in the other two meets this season.