TF2K23

Check out our previous track and field previews featuring Cincinnati, University of Miami, Ohio State, Charelston Southern, Kentucky and Michigan.

With most teams begining their seasons either next week and even in January, Youngstown State is off to its usually early start. The Penguins are hosting the YSU Icebreaker on Dec. 2 with numerous teams who will compete. While we plan on being their live to give you the highlights of the meet, let's start things off with a team preview.

Kyndia Matlock

Senior Kyndia Matlock is a star sprinter for Youngstown State. Competing in her hometown, Matlock led Youngstown State to a conference championship during outdoor season as she had her career breakout meet. Matlock won the Horizon League gold in the 100 meters with a time of 11.54. She also won silver medals in the 200 meters and as one fourth of the 400-meter relay squad. During the indoor season she captured a silver medal in the 60 meters at 7.52 as well as bronze medal in the 200 meters. Over her career Matlock has won conference championships in the 400-meter relay and the 60 meters in 2021. She finished last season competing in the 100 meters at the NCAA East Preliminary Round for the first time of her career.

Cyncere Cunningham

This third-year sprinter is looking for a breakthrough season in 2023. Cyncere Cunningham is a junior from Willoughby, Ohio. She competed in the 100 meters and 200 meters finals at the Horzion League Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time of her career last season. She also grabbed her first conference medal along with teammates Logan Franczkowski, Madison Murry and Kyndia Matlock in a 400-meter relay runner-up effort. Cunningham just missed getting a medal in the 60 meters at the Horizon League indoor meet when she placed fourth at 7.66.

Madison Murry

A junior from Columbus, Ohio, Madison Murry has been worth the investment for the Youngstown State program. As a freshman she won a championship in the 60-meter hurdles (8.72) at the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships. She followed that up last season with a runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.53). Murry closed her season with her first gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles at the Horizon League outdoor meet, with a career best legal time of 14.04. She also won a silver in the 400-meter relay and scored points with a sixth place finish in the 200 meters final.

Nia Williams-Mathews

A native of Rochester, New York, Nia Williams-Mathews has been a productive jumper for Youngstown State. The junior has been one of the top triple jumpers in the Horizon League. She scored a silver medal in the triple jump (11.85) as a freshman at the Horizon League Outdooor Track & Field Championships in 2021. Williams-Mathews followed that up with another second-place finish (12.10) last season. Her biggest moment came when she grabbed the gold in the triple jump at a career best mark of 12.29 at last year's Horizon League indoor meet. She also jumped a career best 5.67 in the long jump to take the bronze medal at the 2022 conference championships.

Olivia Jones

A senior from Gloucestershier, England, Olivia Jones has had a dominant career at Youngstown State. She started her career with a Horizon League indoor meet win in the pentathlon, scoring 3,424 points as a freshman in 2019. At her first outdoor conference meet in 2019, Jones won the heptathlon (4,758) and took second in the javelin throw. She's won pentathlons in 2020 and 2021. Her best score was 3,681 at the 2o2o Horizon League Indoor Track & Field Championships. Jones also has won more gold medals in the javelin throw and heptathlon at the Horizon League Outdoor Track & Field Championships in 2021 and 2022. Her best heptathlon score was 4,866 at the 2021 conference meet.