Green Leads Huge Crew at Dubuque Meet
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–Gabriel Green (Jr., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) and his teammates did not let a long holiday break slow them down as the William Penn men’s track and field team at the Dubuque Sol Butler Classic Saturday.
Green dominated the 200-meter dash, winning the title in 22.25 seconds. He was .99 seconds faster than his nearest competitor, teammate Armand Thigpen (Fr., Park Forest, Ill., Thornton Township HS) at 23.24 seconds.
Green’s time both broke the facility record and qualified him for nationals by eclipsing the ‘B’ standard. He has now qualified in the 200 and the 60.
He was one of 14 individuals/events that scored points for the Statesmen Saturday. William Penn was fourth out of nine teams with 71 points, while Augustana (Ill.) easily won the trophy with 236.5 points.
Jalen Wilson (Fr., Desoto, Texas, Duncanville HS) also took home gold, topping the long jump field at 22-5.25. It is his first collegiate crown.
The navy and gold were strongest in the short distances, including the 200, where Wilson was also seventh (23.78).
The 55-meter hurdles were also a bright spot for William Penn with Sam Taylor (Fr., Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg HS) garnering runner-up honors in a time of 8.07 seconds. AJ Michael Rachford (Fr., Agency, Cardinal HS) was fifth at 8.24 seconds and Trevor Volz (Fr., Adel, ADM HS) was sixth at 8.30 seconds.
The duo of Blake Washington (So., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) and Josh Roudabush (Sr., Brooklyn, BGM HS) put up points in the 800-meter run, taking fifth (2:04.55) and eighth (2:07.83) respectively.
Thigpen earned a fifth-place finish in the 55-meter dash as well, ending in a time of 6.67 seconds, while Dexter Jordan (So., St. Louis, Mo., Forrest Park CC) was eighth in the 400 at 54.98 seconds.
The relays also fared well with the 4×4 squad of Green, Jordan, Washington, and Roudabush taking fourth in 3:32.57, while the distance medley was sixth at 11:22.36. Nick Thomas (Fr., Salmon, Idaho, Salmon HS) and Nick Reynolds (Sr., Riverton, Utah, Iowa Western CC) joined Jordan and Washington in the distance medley race.
Deane Wichelt (Fr., Blue Grass, Durant HS) carried the torch for the distance runners with an eighth-place showing in the one-mile run (5:06.89).
Next: The Statesmen travel to Ames next Saturday and Sunday for the ISU Open.
