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Wrestlers battling more than opponents

Simi Moananu was drenched in sweat. His shirt was a darker shade of gray than when Liberty’s wrestling practice first started. The big, burly Moananu pushed through the final minutes of the conditioning portion of practice and seemed rather elated to hear the final whistle blow. He brought the team together for a break that signified the end of practice. Well, the first practice. Moananu, like so many others around the state, went to another practice a few hours later as the state-tournament hopeful prepares for the final stretch of a long, grueling season. The mat burn, the ...

Ups and downs of YSU game Saturday

Jason Slay looked around as the Youngstown State University men’s basketball team began to warm up with some stretching exercises. The YSU associate coach glanced around and started clapping. He observed his players — some stretching, others dunking. The group gathered around the basket. Clusters of fans started to file into the Beeghly Center about this time on Saturday, gathered in the upper and lower sections of the building that has stood since the early 1970s. A lanky Northern Kentucky player began to attempt half-court shots, missing one after another. Where’s YSU ...

New coach must be right pick for YSU

The initial response was curiosity. Most people wondered: Who’s Doug Phillips? Youngstown State’s choice for the next football head coach was somewhat surprising. A relatively unknown football coach from the Mahoning Valley, Phillips wasn’t thought to be the first choice. The names of Akron Hoban High School coach Tim Tyrrell and James Madison offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery were the ones being reported in the days following the resignation of Bo Pelini, and yet they seemed to be smokescreens (or their asking prices were too much). Phillips snuck under the proverbial ...

Penguins in position to make history

YOUNGSTOWN — The shine off the Beeghly Center floor glows with the LED lights from high above illuminating down on the 94-by-50 foot floor. It brought a glow to the empty surface and building. The white and red cushioned folding chairs signifying each bench lay empty, as well as the red plastic chairback seats behind. They’re pushed back on the opposite side for the midnight cleaning crew. It’s 11:30 p.m. Thursday night. About two hours earlier, there was a decent crowd filling certain parts of this building, which has stood on the Youngstown State University campus since the ...

Recalling a packed Beeghly Center

YOUNGSTOWN — Feb. 10, 2001. The date was significant as Youngstown State University and Valparaiso were vying for first place in the former Mid-Continent Conference. YSU revealed a month later its exit strategy to the Horizon League, a newly formed conglomeration with teams like current rival Cleveland State, Butler and Wright State. Teams like Valparaiso, Oakland and Northern Kentucky soon followed to the Horizon. The YSU-Valparaiso matchup drew the interest of area fans back then as the teams sought supremacy in the MCC. The Penguins were looking to tie the Crusaders, the ...

Penguins must embrace journey

Matt Manley and his crew of student assistants had cases of water, Gatorade and other snacks stacked and ready to go into the storage compartments of the tour bus parked behind the Beeghly Center. Some were heading for overhead compartments in the middle part of the bus that was being prepared to carry the 30-or-so people traveling with the Youngstown State University men’s basketball team. The trip is one of the shorter ones of the year, heading to southeastern Michigan, about four to five hours away. Most on the bus are concentrating on a variety of things — game film, ...