The Youngstown State men’s and women’s track and field teams opened the WATTS on a very high note on Friday at the YSU Invitational. It was the first meet held in the new state-of-the-art facility.  Participating in the event were Duquesne, Robert Morris, Buffalo State, Slippery Rock, Clarion, and John Carroll.

Bobby Grace won the shot put with a career-best toss of 17.73 meters. Grace’s mark was the third-longest toss in school history. John Seaver was second with a 15.53 and Benjamin Goodnight was fifth at 14.68m. The Penguins took the top four places in the men’s weight throw. George Thomas was first with a throw of 17.19 meters, Grace was second at 16.33m, Caleb Schwan was third at 16.08m and Goodnight was fourth at 15.64m.

Katrina Rettburg took first place in the high jump with a leap of 1.71 meters. Rettburg’s jump was just .02 meters shy of her school mark which she set last yaer. YSU’s Makayla Martin was second at 1.68m while Leanna Hartsough was third at 1.62m.  Laura Kosiorek won the 60m hurdles with a career-best time of 8.85 seconds.  Nichole Rymer was third with a time of 9.01 seconds.

Martin Solomon won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.29 seconds while Clay Febus was second with a personal-best mark of 8.36 seconds. Solomon placed seventh in the 400-meter dash.  Brandon Pasvanis was second in the men’s mile with a time of 4:37.90 while Aron Korir was fourth at 4:51.91.

YSU soccer player Heather Coonfare was the Penguins’ top finisher in the mile run with a time of 5:40.34. Coonfare placed fourth out of nine runners.  Aaron Hartsough placed second in the high jump with a leap of 1.92 meters. The Penguins’ Megan Wesner tied for fourth with a toss of 13.55 meters in the weight throw in her collegiate debut.  In the women’s shot put, Alison Roth was second with a toss of 13.92 meters while KaiCee Kubicina was fourth with a throw of 12.42 meters.

In the women’s 800-meter, Alexis Cooper was fourth with a time of 2:28.09 while Coonfare was fifth clocking a time of 2:29.42.  In the women’s 200-meter dash, Taylor Entzi was fifth with a time of 26.30 seconds while Alexis Washington was sixth at 26.37 seconds. In the long jump, Kendall Homan was fifth with a leap of 5.19 meters.

Brittany Stockmaster finished fourth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 11:36.25.

In the 4×400-meter relay (above photo, courtesy Ron Stevens), the YSU women were first with a time of 4:05.2 finishing ahead of Duquesne. Running for the women were Washington, Entzi, Alteeka Vanwright and Nichole Pachol. In the 400-meter relay for the men, YSU placed third.

The Penguins return to action on Jan. 13 when they participate in the Akron Quad.