Men Take Home First Place Finish at the Grinnell Invite

Grinnell, Iowa.—Statesmen Track and Field was back in action on Saturday as they competed on the Grinnell Invitational.

The men stole the show as they took home the crown for the second consecutive year with a team score of 159.

The Statesmen dominated the 60-yard dash as they took all top-three places. Joel Brown (So., Columbus, Ga.) took first place in the event with a time of 7.04 seconds while Sage Ehresman (Sr., Sully, Iowa, Exercise Science) and Zac Jackson-Richardson (Jr., Germantown, Md.) placed second and third respectively with times of 7.10 seconds and 7.14 seconds. Jackson-Richardson took the silver and Brown took fifth in the 200 as well.

In the 400, Percy Burton (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) placed seventh in a time of 55.71 seconds while Jordan McRae (So., North Las Vegas, Nev.) placed just behind him in eighth in 55.73 seconds. Kenneth Bolton III (So., South Riding, Va.) took the bronze in the 800, doing so in a time of 2:05.02 seconds.

The 60-meter hurdles was another bright spot for the navy and gold as they took the top two spots with Loubert Dagrin (Fr.) taking the gold in 8.83 seconds and Mofiyinfoluwa Alade (Jr., Hoffman Estates, Ill.) taking the silver in 8.97 seconds.

The distance medley squad took first place as well with a time of 11:13.62 seconds. The team is comprised of Julian Davis (Jr., Palmer, Alaska), Burton, Bolton, and William De Jesus (Fr., Homestead, Fla.).

Alade took the gold in the high jump with a height of 6-0.75.

Yasin Mohammed (Fr., Laurel, Md.) took silver, Justin Moeller (Fr., Keota, Iowa) took bronze, and Jackson Coates (Fr., Aldie, Va.) took fifth in the long jump event.

Mohammed went on took take the top finish in the triple jump with a distance of 41-9.75.

In the throws the Statesmen got a pair of second place finishes with Ehresman doing so in the shot put with a distance of 49-7.25 while Malik Williams (Sr., College Station, Texas) took second in the weight throw, recording a distance of 47-03. Jasper Stottlemyer (So., Council Bluffs, Iowa) took fourth in each event.

The women also put together a strong outing, leading them to a fourth-place finish.

Carl’Asia Spikes (Fr., Orlando, Fla.) took the gold in the 60-meter dash with a time of 8.19 seconds to get the ladies going. Desiree Copper (So., Green Bay, Wis.) placed fifth in a time of 28.31 seconds while Raven Williams (So., Las Vegas, Nev.) took sixth in a time of 28.60 in the 200-meter dash. In the 400, Shaniah Newby (Fr., Twentynine Palms, Calif.) placed second with a time of 1:00.7 ticks and Williams placed fourth in 1:05.74 seconds.

Michaela Kmiec (Fr., Centerville, Texas) was the top-finisher for the Statesmen in the 800-meter run as she placed fifth in a time of 2:32.69 seconds.

In the hurdles, Katherin Hunter (So., Bloomfield, Iowa) placed first overall in a time of 9.89 seconds.

Shelbie Williams (Jr., Hedrick, Iowa) was the runner-up in the shot put as she recorded a distance of 39-8 while Elayna VanArsdale (Sr., Bensalem, Pa.) placed sixth with a throw of 34-03.5. Kathryn Gutch (So., Eddyville, Iowa) finished fifth in the weight throw with a recorded toss of 42-7.

“Very pleased with how both squads competed today.” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “A lot of our kids in the finals and a lot of personal records. ”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Maryville, Mo. on Friday to compete in the Northwest Missouri State Bearcat Open.