Wilson Qualifies, Three Records Broken at UNI Meet
William Penn University Athletics
Cedar Falls–A large contingency of Statesmen tracksters performed well Saturday as William Penn returned to action at the UNI Panther Open.
Jalen Wilson (So., Desoto, Texas) led the way by winning the long jump event with a school record and NAIA automatic-qualifying distance of 23-8.
Experienced upperclassman Gabriel Green (Sr., Anniston, Ala.) and newcomer Alex Edwards (So., Knoxville, Iowa) matched Wilson by winning their respective competitions. Green took first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.01 seconds, while Edwards beat the field in the 800-meter run at 1:56.30. Edwards’ time also set a new program record in the 800.
The 4×400-meter relay squad set a new school mark as well with a time of 3:26.31.
Green was also a high finisher in the sport’s fastest race, placing second in 7.06 seconds.
Kederick Givins (Fr., Wylie, Texas) joined Green with a pair of top tens in the 60 (sixth, 7.31 seconds) and the 200 (seventh, 23.77 seconds. Kenbea Walker (So., McKinney, Texas) made it a trio of Statesmen in the 200, picking up runner-up honors in 23.37 seconds.
Three athletes sporting the navy and gold also found themselves in the top ten in the 600-meter run and 60-meter hurdles. In the 600, Dexter Jordan (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) was third at 1:25.09, while Stepfon Williams (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) was seventh (1:27.73) and Nick Thomas (So., Salmon, Idaho) was ninth (1:28.50).
Sam Taylor (So., Eddyville, Iowa) was the best WPU runner in the 60 hurdles, finishing fourth at 8.87 seconds, while Trevor Volz (So., Adel, Iowa) was fifth (8.92) and David Briscoe (Fr., Champaign, Ill.) was seventh (9.18). Taylor’s preliminary time of 8.82 seconds was his team’s best on Saturday.
Volz competed in the rarely-ran 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line third in 1:00.84. According to Head Coach Allen Friesen, it is only the second time the event has ever been run in the United States.
Blake Washington (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa) was just a bit behind Edwards in the 800, earning fourth-place laurels at 2:06.80.
Bryndon Douglas (Fr., Omaha, Neb.), in sixth at 20-3, and Van Love-Scott (So., Detroit, Mich.), in tenth at 19-1.25, were the second and third top-ten long jumpers for WPU.
Frederick Pannell (Fr., Trenton, Mo.) claimed the bronze in the triple jump at 43-3.25.
“This was an outstanding effort by everyone today,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “We broke records on both sides and that is a testament to both how hard our coaches have worked to prepare our athletes and how well our athletes responded.”
Next: William Penn travels to Ames next Friday and Saturday to compete in the Iowa State Open.
