Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Girard graduate Collin Harden runs the 400-meter dash for Youngstown State during the Horizon League Indoor Championships at the WATTS in Youngstown.

Collin Harden had been nursing an injured hamstring. The Youngstown State University senior track and field athlete knew he’d be fine for the first couple of meets.

He’s better now, but there’s no season for the Girard High School graduate. All spring college sports have been out of commission since about mid-March because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“It definitely sucked,” said Harden, who competed in the 400-meter dash at last year’s NCAA Championships. “Just traveling with my teammates, that’s what I’m going to miss the most. The meets were fun, I ran good times. In the end, my teammates were there for me. It sucks I can’t win another conference for my team.”

YSU’s men captured a fifth straight Horizon League Indoor championship about a month ago in the WATTS, while the Penguin women have had four straight league indoor titles.

YSU’s men were seeking their fourth outdoor title in the last five years, while the women were seeking their seventh straight outdoor championship.

The indoor and outdoor programs are the university’s most successful athletic endeavors.

“If we were basketball, it would be incredible going to the tournament the last couple of years,” YSU coach Brian Gorby said.

McDonald High School graduate Iva Domitrovich was part of the Blue Devils’ Division III track and field state championship in 2014. Being part of recent Horizon League championships reminded her of that feeling with McDonald.

“This is a time where everybody comes together as a team,” Domitrovich said. “That’s what I like the most about track and field, is the team atmosphere. Being about to share in those experiences with some of my best friends is definitely something I’ll remember forever.”

The NCAA is giving an extra year of eligibility to all Division I spring athletes, a move that was announced Monday.

Harden and Domitrovich are deciding if they are coming back for the 2020-21 season.

“Currently I’m exploring all my options,” Harden said. “I don’t know what exactly I’m doing. If I do come back, I’ll be all in, of course.

“We’ll give it time and see what I choose to do.”

Domitrovich was accepted to the physical therapy school at Ohio State starting in May.

“I loved my four years of track at YSU,” she said. “I’m ready to move on to more academics and really focus on my professional career.”

Gorby said he — along with the YSU academic administration — is making sure his athletes are staying on track with their online requirements for the remainder of the spring semester.

He said this time for training is more like a longer summer component. No formal practices are permitted with athletes abiding by the stay-at-home order of Gov. Mike DeWine.

“They’re all kind of working individually,” Gorby said. “We usually have a two-week down period anyway, we’ll treat the last week and half like that.

“Maybe the next step is a structured routine. Most of the time we’re traveling around to junior nationals and nationals. This is the freshest we’ll be a a team.”

Harden was working out from home and running a couple miles every morning, staying in shape.

“I’m taking this time to let my body heal up,” Harden said. “We’ll see if I come back next year so I can be stronger and well-rested. Track and field is a long season.”

He’s looking for an internship in the hospitality industry when things begin to get back to normal. Beyond that, he said he wants that to be a surprise.

What is known is the legacy he and other seniors left on this program.

“We definitely have left our marks,” Harden said. “We can always be better about the times that we had or what else that we did do. Life happens and we can’t expect to know when our last meet is going to be. I gave it all, everything I had, my senior year. I’m not mad about everything that happened.”