{"id":466140,"date":"2026-10-14T21:42:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T21:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/466140\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T21:42:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T21:42:11","slug":"ysu-closes-out-regular-season-in-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/466140\/","title":{"rendered":"YSU Closes Out Regular Season in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>For the first time since 2024, the Youngstown State men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s cross country teams will travel to College Station, Texas, for the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&amp;M on Friday. The regular-season finale will take place at Watts Cross Country Course.<\/p>\n<p>Men&#8217;s Preview<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nFifteen men will compete in the 8K at 9:15 a.m. Eastern\/8:15 a.m. Central time. <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/blaze-fichter\/9048\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9048\" target=\"_blank\">Blaze Fichter<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/owen-brady\/9042\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9042\" target=\"_blank\">Owen Brady<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/connor-shingleton\/9065\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9065\" target=\"_blank\">Connor Shingleton<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/sage-vavro\/9069\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9069\" target=\"_blank\">Sage Vavro<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/thomas-hunyadi\/9052\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9052\" target=\"_blank\">Thomas Hunyadi<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/josh-jones\/9055\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9055\" target=\"_blank\">Josh Jones<\/a> all return to Watts Cross Country Course after competing in the 2024 race.<\/p>\n<p>Fichter recorded his personal-best 8K time of 23:50.4 at the 2024 Arturo Barrios Invitational, which ranks seventh in program history. Shingleton also posted his personal-best 8K time of 24:28.6 at the meet.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/blake-baker\/9040\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9040\" target=\"_blank\">Blake Baker<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/patrick-burgos\/9071\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9071\" target=\"_blank\">Patrick Burgos<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/ethan-cope\/9045\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9045\" target=\"_blank\">Ethan Cope<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/brock-farris\/9047\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9047\" target=\"_blank\">Brock Farris<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/mj-pottinger\/9059\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9059\" target=\"_blank\">MJ Pottinger<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/caleb-prettyman\/9079\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9079\" target=\"_blank\">Caleb Prettyman<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/owen-scott\/9064\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9064\" target=\"_blank\">Owen Scott<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/tyce-shaner\/9077\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9077\" target=\"_blank\">Tyce Shaner<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/landen-eyre\/9046\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9046\" target=\"_blank\">Landen Eyre<\/a>, who will make his collegiate debut, round out the lineup.<\/p>\n<p>Former Penguins Hunter Christopher, Ryan Meadows, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/tobias-jones\/8422\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"8422\" target=\"_blank\">Tobias Jones<\/a> and Thomas Caputo all recorded top-10 times in program history at the 2024 race. Christopher&#8217;s 8K time of 23:10.6 still holds the top spot in the record book. The men finished fifth out of 38 teams with 205 points.<\/p>\n<p>Women&#8217;s Preview<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTen women will compete in the 6K at 9:50 a.m. Eastern\/8:50\u00a0a.m. Central time. <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/mckinley-fielding\/9049\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9049\" target=\"_blank\">McKinley Fielding<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/caleigh-richards\/9061\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9061\" target=\"_blank\">Caleigh Richards<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/megan-stafford\/9067\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9067\" target=\"_blank\">Megan Stafford<\/a> are the only Penguins returning to Texas from the 2024 squad.<\/p>\n<p>Fielding set a program record with her 6K time of 20:40.6 at Texas A&amp;M in 2024 before breaking her own record at the 2025 Horizon League Championships. Richards recorded her career-best 6K time of 20:53.3 during her freshman season in 2024, which ranks fourth in program history.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/cecelia-chase\/9044\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9044\" target=\"_blank\">Cecelia Chase<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/maggie-hopple\/9051\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9051\" target=\"_blank\">Maggie Hopple<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/lillian-katsaras\/9056\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9056\" target=\"_blank\">Lillian Katsaras<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/erica-kaulen\/9073\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9073\" target=\"_blank\">Erica Kaulen<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/linsey-plant\/9058\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9058\" target=\"_blank\">Linsey Plant<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/brady-sterbling\/9068\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9068\" target=\"_blank\">Brady Sterbling<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/ysusports.com\/sports\/xc\/roster\/julia-wheeler\/9074\" rel=\"smarttag nofollow noopener\" rev=\"9074\" target=\"_blank\">Julia Wheeler<\/a> round out the Guins lineup.<\/p>\n<p>The women finished 30th out of 41 teams with 745 points at the 2024 invitational.<\/p>\n<p>Last Time Out<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThe Penguins competed in the Blue and Gold races at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational on Oct. 2.<\/p>\n<p>The women recorded a program-best 13th-place finish in the Blue Race, led by Fielding&#8217;s 37th-place finish. She matched her personal-best 5K time of 16:59.3. Richards improved her fourth-best time in program history by four seconds, while Kaulen added her name to the record book in her first collegiate 5K race.<\/p>\n<p>Following the invitational, Fielding earned Under Armour #HLXC Women&#8217;s Runner of the Week honors for the third time in her career, while Kaulen was named #HLXC Women&#8217;s Freshman Runner of the Week for the third time this season. The women also reached a program-best No. 12 in the latest USTFCCCA Great Lakes Regional rankings, surpassing their previous high of No. 13 in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Burgos led the men with a 27th-place finish among 156 runners. Jones, Shingleton, Fichter and Scott also scored points for the Penguins. The team finished 13th out of 18 teams with 296 points, matching its program-best Blue Race finish from 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The Field<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nMen&#8217;s<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nAbilene Christian<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nAdams State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nApp State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nArizona State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nBaylor<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nCBU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nCal Poly<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nEastern Kentucky<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nFIU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHarding<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHouston<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHouston Christian<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nIncarnate Word<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLSU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLSU New Orleans<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLamar<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLouisiana<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nMcNeese State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nNew Mexico State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nNicholls State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nNorth Texas<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nOdessa<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nOhio State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nOklahoma City<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nRice<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nRichmond<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nSam Houston<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nSan Francisco\u00a0<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nStephen F. Austin<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTCU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTarleton State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas A&amp;M<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas A&amp;M San Antonio<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas A&amp;M-CC<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas Southern<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nULM<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUT-Arlington<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUT-Rio Grande Valley<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUTEP<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUTSA<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nYoungstown State<\/p>\n<p>Women&#8217;s<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nAbilene Christian<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nAdams State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nApp State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nArizona State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nArkansas<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nBaylor<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nCal Poly<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nEastern Kentucky<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nFIU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHarding<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHenderson State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHouston<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nHouston Christian<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nIncarnate Word<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLSU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLSU New Orleans<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLamar<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nLouisiana<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nMcNeese State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nNew Mexico State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nNicholls State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nNorth Texas\u00a0<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nOdessa<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nOhio State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nOklahoma City\u00a0<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nRice\u00a0<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nRichmond<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nSam Houston\u00a0<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nSan Francisco<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nStephen F. Austin<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTCU<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTarleton State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas A&amp;M<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas A&amp;M San Antonio<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas A&amp;M-CC<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas Southern<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTexas State<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTulane<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nTulsa<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUCF<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nULM<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUT-Arlington<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUT-Rio Grande Valley<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUTEP<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nUTSA<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nYoungstown State<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For the first time since 2024, the Youngstown State men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s cross country teams will travel to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466141,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-466140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}