4×1 Crew Extends Streaka
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Gulf Shores, Ala.–The William Penn men’s track and field team kept a tradition going strong as it took home hardware at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships Thursday through Saturday.
The men’s 4×100-meter relay team of Chris Leiba (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Business Management), Tristen Elmore (Jr., Ovied, Fla., Physical Education), Joel Brown (Fr., Columbus, Ga.), and Sage Ehresman (Jr., Sully, Iowa, Exercise Science) posted a school-record time of 41.00 seconds in Thursday’s trials to gain a berth in Saturday’s finals.
The squad, which then included Michael Hubbard (Sr., Gary, Ind., Exercise Science) instead of Ehresman, broke the program mark again with a time of 40.96 seconds to place sixth. Tennessee Wesleyan won the national title at 40.22.
The sixth-place finish means WPU has now garnered an All-America laurel for the 10th national meet in a row, dating back to the 2015 indoor campaign. It is the 22nd All-America award in men’s history, including 14 since the streak started and 19 since the 2010 indoor season.
Leiba and Elmore also both battled in the 100-meter dash event, but unfortunately, neither individual was able to advance past Friday’s trials. Leiba placed 17th in a time of 10.65 seconds, while Elmore was 24th in 10.81 seconds. Demarius Smith of Cumberlands (Ky.) took the crown in 10.26 seconds.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) also made the trip to nationals but was unable to close out her illustrious collegiate career with an award as she failed to clear the opening height. Kyara Black of Spring Arbor (Mich.) earned the national title at 5-9.25.
“I am super proud of all the hard work our young student-athletes put in to get to nationals and that hard work paid off,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “This year’s national tournament was a bittersweet one though. While I am really happy for Michael for ending this career as an All-American, I am sad that Vashti was unable to become a double All-American in her career in both basketball and track and field. They both worked so hard and dedicated themselves to the William Penn track and field program. They will be missed greatly by everyone.”
