Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes. YSU’s Dom Perry throws at a home meet on Feb. 3. Perry is looking for his fifth Horizon League indoor title and his third indoor shot put title.

YOUNGSTOWN — Each year, one sign that the winter winds are giving way to sunnier spring skies is conference championship season for the winter sports around the NCAA.

Youngstown State is gearing up for this weekend’s Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships, a two-day event that alternates yearly between Youngstown and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Both the men’s and women’s programs are coming off of indoor titles last year, and are seeking their ninth and eighth consecutive indoor championships, respectively. Action begins at 9 a.m. this morning with the pentathlon.

“When we’re away, it isn’t quite the same. A lot of parents can’t be at the finish line or with the kids on the field. This year, you can have the parents there with you — the families and the teammates — there’s nothing like being at home at YSU,” YSU track coach Brian Gorby said. “It’s definitely a home-field advantage, it means so much more.

“The kids understand that it’s championship time. It just means a little bit more when it’s championship time. To have our family along with all of the other families, everybody seems to step up a little bit more when it’s here.”

One of the more notable local standouts on the men’s side is Dom Perry (Crestview), who has previously won the league’s indoor shot put crown twice. He has the unique opportunity to earn a fifth indoor championship ring due to an extra year of eligibility granted by the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020.

“It’s always a big thing to look forward to at the end of the season. Really, it’s just all of your hard work and dedication put into this meet. You go out, try to perform your best at all the other meets, and it really just builds up to this one big moment,” Perry said. “You just have to trust in your coaches, trust in your strength coaches and your training and programming. You just have to make sure you stay consistent with it.

“Really, the peaking part is the easy part. It’s really just doing less, then more, and making sure the body is as fresh as can be and ready to hit that big mark.”

The fifth-year senior leads a male throwers platoon that fields all Mahoning Valley products, including junior Coleson Kertesz (Springfield), sophomore Ryan Henry (McDonald) and freshman Ryan Tetrick (Brookfield). Perry’s younger sister, Krista, is a junior on the women’s team and is a thrower and Crestview graduate herself.

“I’ve known a lot of those guys since high school, and we get along pretty well,” Perry said. “It’s pretty close knit — we mesh well, we get along, we have good practices and we have a good time.”

Senior Hunter Christopher (Salem) will try to defend his 3000m and 5000m titles after also coming off a first-place finish during the Horizon League’s cross country championship back in the fall.

The distance runners are consistently sent to Boston or State College during the course of the indoor season, which means Christopher hasn’t competed in the Watson and Tressel Training Site much over the past few years.

He appreciates the opportunity has this weekend.

“It’s the perfect ending to the season. Everyone’s family comes in, all of your friends are there, and the community really comes out and supports. The WATTS gets really, really loud,” Christopher said. “It’s so nice being a local kid. My story was kind of different. I always wanted to go far away, a minimum (of) six hours. So to be able to compete in my third Horizon League championships in the WATTS, it’s so much fun. There isn’t really anything else like it, especially the 5K at home.

“You go out to Boston, Arkansas, all these cool meets — we’re lucky to be able to do that, but you don’t get to do any of them in front of any of your family, friends and all of your teammates. You come back into the WATTS with all of those people, and Coach Gorby is right there and Coach (Eric) Rupe is right there. We’re all so scattered. When you’re in the WATTS, all eyes are on you. If you do well, it goes really well. You want to make the most of those moments because we go out to Boston two or three times a year, but you’re only in the WATTS racing for the Horizon League championship once every two years, (so) it means that much more.”

Senior Madison Murry, from Columbus, has been the runner-up the past two indoor seasons for the 60m hurdles, after having won the event during her freshman year. As one of the older runners on the women’s team, it’s about upholding a legacy that the Penguins have built in the sprints.

“I have definitely had to step up as a teammate, as a friend, and make us all feel like a family and bring us all close,” Murry said. “We did lose some great people. We still have great people. We just have to work together and somebody has to bring that energy, and I try my best to be that person to bring that energy to the team when it comes to being on the track.

“I definitely approach it differently because it’s the biggest meet for us. This is a meet we have a high standard (for), this is a meet that’s going to have an intense atmosphere, so it’s definitely something to keep in mind. This isn’t like every other meet — this is what I’ve been training for this entire indoor season. Those other meets were just a path to get us here.”

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