West Sweeps Throwing Events as Statesmen Take Fourth in Conference
Cedar Rapids–Xzavion West (Sr., Guthrie, Ky., Psychology) capped a remarkable year in the league by winning three more event titles as the William Penn men’s track and field team competed at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship Friday and Saturday.
As a team, WPU finished fourth out of 14 teams with 116.5 points. Benedictine earned the crown with 147 points.
The Statesmen, who were just 1.5 points out of third place, were guided by West and his three event victories. The senior, who swept the throws in the league’s indoor championship in February, accomplished the feat outside as well.
West demolished the rest of the conference, winning the discus at 150-4, the shot put at 53-0.25, and the hammer throw at 203-5. None of the competitions were close as he took the discus by over two feet, the shot put by over three feet, and the hammer by over a jaw-dropping 30 feet.
He is only the second Statesmen ever to sweep the outdoor throws (Derek Seddon, 2017), but is the first WPU thrower to take all five event championships in a school year.
With his three titles, West earned the award for Most Points Scored with 30.
West was one of two Heart champions for WPU during the indoor slate, but the outdoor event was even better as he was joined by two of his teammates in the winner’s circle for a grand total of five titles.
Koby Higginbotham (Fr., Knoxville, Iowa, Exercise Science) fell short in February and came into the finals with the second-best time, but blitzed the 110-meter hurdles field with a title-grabbing time of 13.96 seconds.
Andrew Miller (Jr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) also claimed a crown during the Championship, hitting the line first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:13.51. The junior also ended up fourth in the 5,000-meter run in 15:11.18.
Myrhon Addison (Fr., Glennville, Ga., Sports Management) matched Miller with a pair of scoring efforts, placing second to West in the discus at 148-0, while finishing sixth in the shot put at 47-0.25. The freshman just missed a third scoring performance as he was 10th in the hammer (153-7).
The 4×100-meter relay team also collected a silver in 40.95 seconds.
An indoor champion just over two months ago, Youssef Hamed (Jr., Al Wakrah, Qatar, Business Management) was a two-time high scorer in Cedar Rapids. He snatched the bronze in the 100-meter dash (10.63), while garnering fourth-place honors in the 200-meter dash (21.74).
Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) gave William Penn two individuals on the steeplechase podium, earning third place in 9:28.65. Carson Springer (Jr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management) was not far behind, placing fifth in 9:43.41.
Keena Taylor (Fr., St. Petersburg, Fla., Business Management) posted the fastest preliminary time in the 100 at 10.45, but settled for fourth in the finals (10.65). He was also strong in the 200 prelims (21.43), but finished fifth overall in the final race (21.75).
The jumping trio of Nicholas Knowles II (Fr., Nassau, Bahamas, Business Management), Micah Mills (Jr., Houston, Texas, Psychology), and DeLawrence Davis (Fr., Marion, Ark., Sports Management) put points on the board for WPU as well.
Knowles II was fourth in the long jump at 22-9, while Mills was fifth in the triple jump (45-5.75). Davis also took fifth in the high jump standings at 5-11.25.
Sean Knockel (Sr., New Sharon, Iowa, Physical Education) paced the non-scoring Statesmen as he just missed receiving points by finishing ninth in the 400-meter dash in 49.85 seconds.
Frederick Kolla Nguimdo (Jr., Wheaton, Md., Secondary Education), in 11th in the hammer (152-2), and Travaughn Robbins-Hall (So., Lauderhill, Fla., Software Engineering), in 12th in the 100 (10.85), were also in the mix at the Championship.
“Our men really competed this weekend,” Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said. “They had some insane and gutsy performances all around. I could list so many names that contributed. We fell just short of getting a plaque, but coming in ranked sixth and pulling off what we did is still amazing. Our guys did everything they possibly could, and we could not be more proud.”
Next Up: William Penn will send select individuals to some last-chance meets with the possibility of heading to the Concordia Twilight in Seward, Neb. next Friday, the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invitational in Joliet, Ill. next Friday, or the Nebraska Kearney Loper Twilight in Kearney, Neb. next Saturday.
