William Penn Athletics News March 6th
William Penn University Athletics
Burnett Second Again, Seconds Shy of National Title
Geneva, Ohio–Katie Burnett (Sr., Mesa, Ariz., Arizona) was so close to a national crown that she could smell it, but again she was denied gold at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships this weekend.
Burnett claimed her fifth All-America award by placing second in the 3,000-meter race walk. She finished the event in a school-record time of 14:22.70, snapping her old mark of 14:35.29.
Unfortunately, it was just a touch too slow as her nemesis, Jessica Ching of Lindenwood (Mo.), once again held off the senior with a time of 14:12.05. Ching also bested Burnett in last year’s indoor championships, though both walkers improved dramatically on last year’s pace.
The fifth A-A award breaks a school record for most career honors, surpassing four-time recipients Abel Trujillo and Darren Cotton (wrestling). Burnett now has two seconds (2010 indoor and 2011 indoor), one fourth (2010 outdoor), and two fifths (2009 indoor and 2009 outdoor) to her credit.
For her finish, Burnett helped Penn tie for 21st in the women’s team standings with eight points.
The men’s competitors were not as fortunate with Carlos Stepter (Sr., Highland Park, Mich., Highland Park HS) providing the lone success story.
Qualifying in the 60-meter dash, Stepter posted the 13th-best preliminary time (6.91 s) to move to the next round. He unfortunately suffered a cramp late at the end of the semifinals and finished with a last-place time of 7.13 seconds.
Teammate Gabriel Green (So., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) had a tremendous regular season, but he could not find his sprinting stride at nationals. The sophomore failed to get out of the preliminary round in either the 60 (7.00 s, 22nd) or the 200-meter dash (22.18 s, 14th).
High jumper Jonathan Pope (Sr., Starkville, Miss., Starkville HS) made his first nationals appearance, but could not clear the difficult opening height of 6-6.75–the identical mark of the school record he set earlier this winter–and no-heighted.
A seasoned veteran at nationals with several appearances, Royce Clay (Sr., Miami, Fla., Booker T. Washington HS) was looking to join Burnett as an All-American. He unfortunately did not, placing 18th in the triple jump with a showing of 45-1.5.
Burgey Fifth at National Tourney
Cedar Rapids–Eric Burgey (Easton, Pa., Easton HS) concluded a stunning freshman campaign with an All-America performance at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships over the weekend.
The 149-pounder recorded five wins against two losses to place fifth in the 34-man bracket, helping his team to a tie for 24th with three other programs at 13.5 points. Notre Dame (Ohio) claimed its second national crown in a row with 170 points, outdistancing Lindenwood (Mo.) and its second-place tally of 141 points. McKendree (Ill.) was third with 138.5 points.
Burgey began his tournament with an 11-5 win over Andy Shoultz of Cumberland (Tenn.) before pounding Morningside’s Justin Truckenmiller 15-5.
In the quarterfinal round, the redshirt freshman with a 33-4 final record, fell to Ashtin Primus of Notre Dame 5-3. Primus eventually lost 5-3 in the 149 finals to Grand View’s Matt Burns.
Moving to the consolation bracket, Burgey secured All-America status with a 14-10 victory against Anthony Weerheim of Montana-State Northern. He then knocked off Grand View’s Adam Kurimski 6-2 before falling to another Notre Dame foe. This time it was defending champion Jeffrey Pelton in his way for a 10-6 defeat.
The tournament finally ended with Burgey holding off Shay Shive of Missouri Valley 11-5 for fifth place.
Burgey becomes the 37th All-American in program history and the 29th since Penn joined the NAIA in 2001-2002.
Three other Statesmen grapplers were in action during the national tournament, but they did not fare as well.
Chris Diaz (Jr., Montrose, Colo., Olathe HS) was the lone other competitor to have his hand raised as he finished 2-2 at 184 pounds.
Diaz opened Thursday with a 14-1 domination of Midland’s (Neb.) Kevin Young. Unfortunately, the junior then fell to the loser’s bracket with a 17-6 setback to Andrew Hairston of Lindsey Wilson (Ky.).
He rebounded with another lopsided win, 12-3 against Jarid Price of Baker (Kan.) before closing out his experience with a 17-4 loss to Northwestern’s Luke Evjen.
The 184-pounder was two wins shy of joining Burgey as an All-American.
125-pounder Taylor Louie (Sr., West Covina, Calif., West Covina HS) and 157-pounder Brandon Smith (Fr., Malcom, BGM HS) also came up short at nationals, both going 0-2 at their respective weights.
Football Picked as Team of the Year for Central Iowa Award
Oskaloosa–Fans voted in droves to support the Statesmen football team and make one final statement that the 2010 squad was something special and the effort was successful as the program was the recipient of a regional honor last month.
Penn was named College/University Team of the Year for the 2nd Annual Central Iowa Sports Awards given out by the Des Moines Area Sports Commission under the umbrella of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. The awards ceremony was held on February 27.
In a public online ballot, the Statesmen beat out Iowa State’s women’s basketball and women’s cross country/track and field programs.
Penn, who finished this past season at 10-1 and shared the Midwest League crown (its fifth ever), was nominated by an alum. All nominated players, teams, or activities must have occurred during the 2010 calendar year as well as within a 75-mile radius of home plate at Principal Park.
Voting ran from January 10-February 18.
