Statesmen Battle at Indoor Nationals

Gainesville, Fla.–The best from the William Penn men’s track and field team took on the best in the nation Thursday and Friday at the US Marines 60th Annual NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championship.

Unfortunately, the Statesmen fell short of putting anyone on the podium.

Anthony Weaver (So., Demopolis, Ala., Mechanical Engineering) guided the navy and gold by placing ninth in Thursday’s triple jump. He was one spot shy of All-America status with his jump of 48-1.75.

Micah Mills (So., Houston, Texas, Psychology) also competed in the triple jump, placing 19th at 46-3.25.

The distance medley relay crew of D’Artagnon Beaver (Sr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services), Andrew Miller (So., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science), Brandon Williams (Sr., Fountain, Colo., Engineering Technology), and Bennett Polite (Jr., Kearney, Mo., Fine Arts) was on the track Thursday, taking 17th overall in a time of 10:16.46.

Beaver then returned to the oval Friday, finishing 18th in the one-mile run in 4:22.60.

Xzavion West (Jr., Guthrie, Ky., Undecided) topped WPU’s Friday competitors as he ended up 12th in the weight throw with a distance of 57-6.5.

Showalter Johnson (Sr., Nassau, Bahamas, New Media) concluded William Penn’s running events, finishing 23rd in the 60-meter dash in 6.84 seconds.

“This was a bittersweet way to end our indoor season,” Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said. “Our athletes fought hard at nationals and had some good performances, but it just was not enough to bring home some hardware.”

“On a positive note, we saw some really positive things that are going to help them immensely during the outdoor season,” Vinokur added. “This puts a bit of a chip on their shoulder heading into outdoor.”