The Youngstown State University men's and women's track and field teams dominated day one of the 2026 Horizon League Indoor Championships in Youngstown, Ohio. They won five events and secured five runner-up finishes, opening substantial leads in the team standings. The women scored 86 points, ahead of Milwaukee's 53, while the men tallied 91 points, leading Purdue Fort Wayne by 66.
Hosted at the WATTS Center in Youngstown, the championships began on February 28, 2026, with the Penguins excelling across multiple disciplines. The women's team claimed victories in the pole vault, weight throw, and 5,000m. Ainsley Hamsher cleared 4.22m in the pole vault to set a meet record and earn her first Horizon League indoor title, after placing second in 2025 and third in 2024. Jaylynn King threw 18.81m in the weight throw for her first title, defeating Purdue Fort Wayne's defending champion Ali Sparks and marking the first Penguin win in the event since 2019. McKinley Fielding won the 5,000m in 16:36.34, 30 seconds faster than her 2025 victory and by more than nine seconds over Robert Morris University's Julia Dill.
The men's team triumphed in the pole vault and long jump. Lukas Lang cleared 5.05m for his second consecutive pole vault title. Isaiah Barker jumped 7.29m in the long jump for his first Horizon League indoor crown, with Youngstown State taking the top five spots: Brandon Hutchinson second at 7.12m, Aaron Berardinelli third at 7.06m, Brayden Green fourth at 7.01m, and Emmanuel Asabere fifth at 7.00m.
In other events, the women placed fifth in the distance medley relay with 12:08.21, and the men fifth in 10:12.42. Preliminary heats advanced multiple Penguins to finals, including Caedeon Trotter (top qualifier in men's 60m at 6.87 seconds) and four men in the 200m top six.
Team scores after day one: Men - Youngstown State 91, Purdue Fort Wayne 25, Northern Kentucky 20; Women - Youngstown State 86, Milwaukee 53, Oakland 23. Competition continues on February 29, starting at 9 a.m. with heptathlon events.
