There’s certainly enough hardware for the Penguins to show off. The glass cases inside the Watson and Tressel Training Site are full of trophies, rings, plaques, and Mickey Mouse statues from events that were held at Walt Disney World.

On Sunday afternoon, the Penguins added a pair of trophies as the men’s and women’s teams both claimed indoor Horizon League titles after the conclusion of the two-day league event at YSU.

It’s the fifth consecutive indoor title for the women and the fourth consecutive for the men. The women have tied the Horizon League record with nine titles.

Coach Brian Gorby, the Boardman native and curator of YSU’s trophy collection, has now won 43 total championships between the track and cross country programs at YSU.

Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes Collin Harden, runs though the finish line in the 400-meter dash during the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Girard alum won the 60-meter hurdles, finished second in the 400 and eighth in the 200.

He’s served as the leader of the cross country program since 1993 and took over the track program in 1994.

“It’s a team effort, we just want to enjoy it and celebrate it because sometimes it’s just expected and happens,” Gorby said. “I want to have these kids understand that it is a big deal.

“I’m amazed at what they did this weekend because we literally have nine to ten other teams trying to do the same thing and they want to do anything that they can to win these championships.”

Senior Jaliyah Elliott was named the meet’s Alfreeda Goff athlete of the year after winning the 60-meter dash and the 200. Her time of 23.66 seconds in the 200 is a new YSU and league record.

“I love it,” Elliott said. “You know we left our mark when the other teams are tired of us.

“But we love winning and everybody does their job.”

Pacing herself is key to winning multiple events.

“It’s definitely hard, especially from the 60 to the 200,” she said. “There’s like a 15-minute break so you literally just got to tell yourself and get mentally ready so you can perform your best.”

A new rule this season limits teams to 32 athletes at the indoor meet and 36 for the outdoor meet. The YSU men scored 214 points and the women tallied 183.

Next season the league meet will move to Purdue University Fort Wayne as part of a rotation after being at YSU for the last several years.

Hosting a meet has its advantages, but the track coaches have more details to keep an eye on at home.

“These kids, when they’re home sometimes, they’ve got the crowd behind them, which is awesome, but the spotlight is just so immense,” Gorby said. “We kind of go over with the kids the day before that they can’t talk to parents, they can talk to them afterwards.

“On a football field, the parents or friends can’t get to you. Here they all want to talk to you while you’re competing, so there are pieces of the equation that maybe people outside don’t see that we’re trying to monitor and maneuver around, and making sure our kids stay on point.”

Gorby was named the coach of the year for both the men’s and women’s teams. Jahniya Bowers, a graduate of East High School, was named the league’s running freshman of the year after having top three finishes in the 60 and 200 dashes. Alivia Bentely won the field freshman of the year award after winning the shot put, which is the 10th straight year the Penguins have won the event.

Remarkably enough, the YSU women have won the shot put 15 out of the last 16 years.

Dakari Carter, a former football player at the University of Toledo, won running freshman of the year following victories in both the 60m dash and 200m.

Collin Harden, a Girard High alum, wrapped up his indoor career with a first-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, along with taking home second place in the 400 and an eighth-place finish in the 200m.

“It just feels great, just being able to win here with my teammates, I do everything for them,” Harden said. “I did all the events that I did for them. I’m glad that we could come out on top with a win.

“The only pressure we had was to score more points, we wanted to break the record that we set in the outdoor season, so I’m just mad that we didn’t break that record, but other than that we’re fine.”

The YSU track teams will resume competition in late March at Texas and Texas State. They’ll both look to defend their outdoor league titles at Oakland University in May.