Two Conference Records Set in First Day of 2019 #HLTF Championship
YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO – The 2019 Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Championship began Friday on the campus of Youngstown State. After the first day of competition, two new championship records were set with Youngstown State’s Jake Wilson in the javelin (66.98m) and Milwaukee’s Emily Royston in the 10k (34:58.67).Youngstown State is number one on the leaderboard with 52 points on the men’s side and 46 points on the women’s side. Championship competition will resume Saturday at 9 a.m. with the first event being the decathlon.
Jake Wilson set a facility, school and conference record in the men’s javelin and won the event for the third year in a row with a 66.98m throw for the Penguins. Teammate Noah Drudy took second place with a throw of 65.86m. Both athletes have now earned a spot to the NCAA regional.
Milwaukee sophomore Emily Royston set a new facility and conference record in the women’s 10k running a time of 34:58.67. Second place went to Wright State’s Shelby Nolan (36:32.01), who was followed closely by Jennifer Muhlenkamp of Youngstown State who finished third (36:34.08).
Senior Ryan Sullivan of Youngstown State set a new facility record of 30:52.30 to win the men’s 10K in the final event of day one. Youngstown State also took the top two spots in the men’s discus with senior Dom Westbay throwing 50.31m and freshman Zach Gehm tossing 50.30m.
Youngstown State finished first and second in the women’s javelin with junior Angela Lock (41.22m) winning and freshman Olivia Jones (38.43m) taking second place. Third place went to Detroit Mercy senior Natalie Vizard (32.58m).
Olivia Jones leads the heptathlon after setting a facility record in the high jump (1.68m) and winning the 100 hurdles. Kyri Jackson of Detroit Mercy is in second with 2943 points. Cleveland State’s Hannah Gaskins is currently in the third spot with 2852 points.
Milwaukee currently has three athletes in the top spots of the decathlon. Junior Bryce McMurtry leads after day one with 3438 points. McMurtry won the 100m, tied for the top spot in the long jump, and took second in the shot put and 400 meter. Sophomore Drew McCormick (3352 points) currently holds the second spot and junior Trevor Coenen (3306 points) is in third.
Sophomore Brianna Pack of Northern Kentucky was the first champion of the weekend, throwing 44.81m in the discus. Second place went to Youngstown State’s Kaitlyn Merwin with 44.62m, followed by Gabriel Cyriax of Oakland throwing 44.31m.
Milwaukee’s Alex Cotter had the fastest finishing time in the 1500m preliminary Friday evening with a 3:58.84 finish. Brooks Long of IUPUI had the second fastest qualifying time with a 4:00.42 and Detroit Mercy’s Alan Nava finished close behind with 4:00.42. The 1500m final will take place Sunday.
Senior Allie Wright of IUPUI had the fastest qualifying time in the 1500m preliminary with a finish of 4:40.75. The second qualifier was Milwaukee sophomore Megan Safranski (4:42.61) and the third qualifying position went to Oakland junior Rachel Levy (4:41.42).
Women’s Team Scores
1. Youngstown State 46
2. Milwaukee 21
3. Northern Kentucky 14
4. Detroit Mercy 10
5. Oakland 8
5. Wright State 8
7. Cleveland State 7
8. UIC 3
Men’s Team Score
1. Youngstown State 52
2. Milwaukee 35
3. IUPUI 14
4. Detroit Mercy 5
4. UIC 5
6. Northern Kentucky 3
6. Oakland 3