BEAVER TOWNSHIP — The YSU men’s and women’s track and field teams recently won their respective Horizon League championships.

When you add the Penguins’ two indoor track and cross country programs to the mix, and having won five of the six titles this past year, head coach Brian Gorby continues to prove that the conference championships in those sports run through Youngstown.

To call Gorby’s programs a juggernaut would be an understatement.

Gorby-coached teams – he is in his 30th season as head coach and 33rd overall with the program – have now won 64 total championships, an average of two-plus titles per academic year.

For their efforts, YSU’s coaching staff was also rewarded by being named Horizon League ‘Staff of the Year’ for the 62nd time during that span.

“It never gets old to celebrate a championship, or in our case, a double championship for both our men’s and women’s track and field teams,” Gorby told the Curbstone Coaches during Monday’s meeting at Avion Banquet Center. “We will savor this moment and celebrate our most recent accomplishments. As a staff, however, we have already hit the recruiting trail looking to replace those student-athletes that we will lose to graduation, hoping to add a new and talented group to those returning.”

There are very few coaches on the collegiate level who have won as gracefully yet maintained the level of success that Gorby teams have over the years.

Defining his programs the past 10 years would have to be a decade of dominance and rightfully so with 10 straight championships to their credit.

“We had six opportunities this past year and won five championships – our men winning the triple crown and women just missing out in cross country,” Gorby said. “Our men’s team has now won three straight cross country titles, with Hunter Christopher finishing as the 2023 and 2024 individual champion. This year, Ryan Meadows finished fourth, Toby Jones sixth, Blaze Fichter seventh and Thomas Caputo eighth out of 110 runners in the field.

“The men also dominated indoor track, winning their 10th straight championship, but the way they won it was most impressive. They beat runner-up Milwaukee by 100 points, with Luke Laubacher named ‘Indoor Athlete of the Year.’ He finished ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA in both the 60 hurdles and long jump, earning YSU’s Joe Malmisur Athlete of the Year award.

“Our women won the indoor championship and have now won 10 of the past 11 Horizon League Championships. Esther Solarin was named Athlete of the Year, setting new league standards in the long jump and triple jump. The men’s outdoor track team absolutely dominated to cap off a third consecutive triple crown. They broke the conference record for widest margin of victory, beating runner-up Milwaukee 281 to 140, more than double as we broke our previous mark of 137 points, which was set in 2019. Our women’s team won the outdoor championship to claim their 10th title in 11 years and 16th overall, the most ever in Horizon League history, so the past year has been incredibly special for a variety of reasons.”

Overall, Gorby’s men’s teams have won six triple crowns: the Horizon League in 2016-17, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, and the Mid-Continent Conference in 1996-97, while the women’s program has a pair of triple crowns, those coming in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Under his tutelage, the Penguins have won 434 individual titles and own 31 relay wins in the Horizon League, additionally claiming eight Mid-Continent Conference Championships from 1994 to 2001.

Individually, Gorby has produced 23 All-Americans, 35 national qualifiers, 12 junior national qualifiers and 124 NCAA Regional outdoor qualifiers.

Overshadowed by the championship trophies and individual accomplishments, Gorby has also guided YSU to runner-up finishes at the league track and field meet 27 times (14 men, eight outdoor and six indoor) and 13 times by the women (eight indoor, five outdoor).

Gorby is the first to acknowledge that his assistants are a big part of any success they have enjoyed over the years.

“We have an excellent staff, one that is very knowledgeable in their particular areas of expertise,” he added. “From Eric Rupe and Bre Rupe in both cross country and track, to track assistants Rick Penniman, Arnoldo Morales, David Townsend, Jacob Glass and my brother, Keith, all have been great and remain a big reason as to why we have been so successful. As you can imagine, the chance to work with my brother is just special.”

Also honored were YSU’s women’s golf and tennis Horizon League champions.

“We had an incredible year,” said Nate Miklos, Penguin women’s golf coach. “Sophomore Neeranuch Prajunpanich was league medalist, runner up last year as a freshman, and as a team, we finished runner up to Oakland University. She didn’t play that well her first round but was great her final two rounds and won by seven strokes. She competed in the NCAA Division I regionals at Ohio State University, was conference first-team, MVP and is only getting better.”

The women’s tennis team won their fourth consecutive Horizon League championship and eighth in the past 12 years.

“Our goal at the beginning of each season is to win the league, and my four years here we either won the regular season or tournament title, winning both my sophomore year,” said Julia Marko, a senior who hails from Romania.

Head coach Mickael Sopel said the key was being able to defeat rival Cleveland State in the tournament.

“We lost to Cleveland State in the regular season but were able to defeat them in the tournament. That was big for us,” he said.

The group will not meet next Monday due to the Memorial Day Holiday but will reconvene on June 23 when they will honor area spring high school team and individual state champions.