2014 Horizon League Track & Field Championships Results - Final
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio— The 2014 Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships came to a close at Farmers National Bank Field on the campus of Youngstown State University.
Youngstown State walked away with the women's title with 185 points, while Detroit placed second with 116 points. It's the Penguin's seventh women's league title in school history.
Entering the second to last event of the championship, the 5,000-meter run, the Youngstown State men trailed Milwaukee 178-173 points. The Youngstown State duo of Eric Rupe and Austin McLean finished 1-2 and the Penguins took a 14 point lead heading into the final event of the night, the 4x400 meter relay.
In the 4x400-meter relay, the Panther team of Jordan Schmidt, Dexter Schleis, Davontae Johnson and Marquis Johnson took first-place, but the Panthers came up 10 points short, 199-189.
Prior to Youngstown State's victory, Milwaukee captured the last 10 men's league championships and 15 out of the last 16. Detroit is the only other league school to win a championship, which came in 2003.
In the very first event of the day, Connor Neu of Youngstown State got things started with a league record in the men’s hammer throw. His toss of 64.22 meters smashed the old league record of 61.52 meters, set in 2008 by Steve Bartholomew of Valparaiso. In the women’s hammer throw, Nancy Harmon of Milwaukee took home top honors with a throw of 55.63 meters.
In the triple jump, Seyi Ogunleye of UIC took first-place with a mark of 14.49 meters. On the women’s side, Sherice Hewett of Milwaukee registered a jump of 12.35 meters, good for first-place. In the high jump, Sharon Mwale of UIC took first-place with a jump of 1.66 meters.
In the 4x100-meter relay, the Milwaukee team of Anthony Leavy, Matt Ferry, D. Johnson and Washington Farrington crossed the finish line first in a time of 41.60 seconds. In the women’s 4x100 relay, Milwaukee's Anuli Okonkwo, Sherice Hewett, CherRay Dixon and Kate Novacek took first with a time of 46.89 seconds.
Tony Sustachek of Milwaukee and Rupe battled in the 1,500-meter run, with Sustachek narrowly edging Rupe 3:58.15 to 3:58.34. On the women’s side, Detroit’s Louisa Coppola cruised to first-place with a time of 4:32.01.
In the 110-meter hurdles, Durell Busby of Milwaukee captured his third Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field 110-meter title. His blistering time of 13.88 seconds topped the league record he set in 2012.
Serena SanCartier of Oakland and Sarah-Ann Blount of Wright State crossed the finish line in a dead heat in the 100-meter hurdles. In a rare case, both runners registered the exact same time, 14.534, to tie for first.
Sophomore M. Johnson defended his title in the 400-meter dash. Johnson finished with a time of 47.71 seconds. Fellow Panther Anuli Okonkwo took first in the women’s 400-meter dash, registering a time of 55.70 seconds.
Detroit finished 1-2 in the men’s 100-meter dash. Brandon Wilks narrowly edged out teammate Charles Anthony to take home top honors. The freshman registered a time of 10.70, good for a .02 second victory.
Sophomore Nina Grambling defended her title in the 100-meter dash, clipping Wright State’s Kacia Grant by .01 seconds. Grambling finished the race in 11.91 seconds.
In the 800-meter run, Christopher Scott of Oakland finished in first-place with a time of 1:54.12. Dana Clausen of Milwaukee took home top honors on the women’s side, crossing the finish line in 2:16.64.
Schmidt of Milwaukee registered a victory in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.75 seconds. His time broke the league record set Schleis in 2012. Schleis finished the event in second-place.
In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Michelle Garner of Milwaukee finished first with a time of 1:00.80.
Detroit's Anthony turned in a first-place performance in the 200-meter dash. His time of 21.70 seconds was good for a .10 second victory over Milwaukee's M. Johnson. Grambling took first-place on the women’s side with a time of 24.44 seconds.
In the women's 4x400 relay, Brandee Hart, Alani Letang, Shannon Marchant and Jasmine Greene of Detroit placed first with a time of 3:53.85.
Samantha Hamilton capped off her league career with a victory in the 5,000 meter run. Her time of 17:32.19 was good for a 4.77 second victory over Louisa Coppola of Detroit.
#HLTF Final Women’s Team Scores
1 Youngstown State 179
2 Detroit 106
3 Wright State 93
4 Milwaukee 83
5 UIC 59
6 Valparaiso 55
7 Oakland 45
#HLTF Final Men’s Team Scores
1 Youngstown State 199
2 Milwaukee 189
3 Detroit 105
4 UIC 76
5 Valparaiso 41
6 Oakland 38
Horizon League Men's Athlete of the Year: Durell Busby, Milwaukee
Horizon League Men's Track Freshman of the Year: Brandon Wilks, Detroit
Horizon League Men's Field Freshman of the Year: Arnoldo Morales, Youngstown State
Horizon League Most Outstanding Performer (Men's Track): Austin McLean, Youngstown State
Horizon League Most Outstanding Performer (Men's Field): Connor Neu, Youngstown State
Horizon League Individual Scoring Award (Men): Eric Rupe, Youngstown State
Horizon League Men's Coach of the Year: Brian Gorby, Youngstown State
Horizon League Athlete of the Year: Samantha Hamilton, Youngstown State
Horizon League Women's Track Freshman of the Year: McKinsie Klim, Youngstown State
Horizon League Women's Field Freshman of the Year: Jayne Corbett, Youngstown State
Horizon League Most Outstanding Performer (Women's Track): Samantha Hamilton, Youngstown State
Horizon League Most Outstanding Performer (Women's Field): Kylie Kopp, Wright State
Horizon League Individual Scoring Award (Women): Nina Grambling, Youngstown State
Horizon League Women's Coach of the Year: Brian Gorby, Youngstown State
