Double-Victory Effort Leads Edwards to Another AOY Honor
William Penn University Athletics
Des Moines–Alex Edwards (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Secondary Education) crossed the line in first place twice to pace the William Penn men’s track and field squad at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Outdoor Championships Thursday through Saturday.
William Penn placed third out of six teams with 114 points, while Grand View took home its fourth-straight outdoor crown with 283 points.
Edwards was first in both the 400-meter dash in 49.21 seconds and the 800-meter run in 1:57.90. Due to his two titles, the junior was named MCC Track Athlete of the Year for the second time, having also won the award during the indoor season. Lance Maxwell of Grand View earned MCC Field Athlete of the Year laurels, while GVU’s Jerry Monner was tabbed as Coach of the Year.
Derek Seddon (Fr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) and Sam Taylor (Jr., Eddyville, Iowa, Industrial Technology) did not bring home big awards, but they did have big showings. Seddon placed in the top five three times, headlined by breaking the school record in the discus at 161-5 (second place). The freshman was also third in the shot put (46-2.75) and fifth in the hammer throw (140-6).
Taylor joined Edwards in the winner’s circle, taking gold in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.96 seconds. Like Seddon, he was also a three-time point-scorer, placing second in the high jump (6-3.25) and eighth in the long jump (21-0.75).
Van Love-Scott (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Education) just missed the trifecta by finishing fourth in the javelin (153-4), sixth in the triple jump (43-7.75), and ninth in the long jump (20-7).
Kalob Gist (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) garnered points for the Statsemen as well. He had a fourth-place shot put (44-6.75) and a seventh-place hammer throw (122-6).
WPU placed four individuals in the triple jump’s top eight. In addition to Love’s sixth, Cornelius McCastle (Fr., McKinney, Texas, Industrial Technology) was third (46-3.25), Joshua Rankin (Fr., University Park, Ill., Undecided) was fourth (44-9.75), and Chris Gossett (Fr., Park Forest, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) was fifth (44-2).
While their teammates took the gold, Stepfon Williams (So., St. Louis, Mo., Industrial Technology) (fifth in the 400, 51.36) and Markenson Charles (Fr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Mechanical Engineering) (sixth in the 110 hurdles, 16.65) were also in the top eight.
Eighth-place efforts came from Nick Thomas (Jr., Salmon, Idaho, Physical Education) in the 1,500-meter run (4:24.79), Blake Washington (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Public Accounting) in the 800 (2:02.42), and Colt Brumbaugh (Sr., Keswick, Iowa, Industrial Technology) in the hammer (117-7).
The Statesmen relays also produced with the 4×400-meter squad headlining the way in second (3:22.86). The 4×1 (44.24) and 4×8 (8:13.07) were both fourth.
In addition to what has been mentioned above, Brumbaugh was one of several more individuals who just missed scoring points in ninth or tenth place. The senior had a ninth-place javelin toss of 140-11, while Dejon Shaw (Fr., Highland Park, Mich., Mechanical Engineering) was one spot shy of points in the 100-meter dash (11.58). Kenbea Walker (Jr., McKinney, Texas, History/Government) finished tenth twice (100, 11.68) (200, 22.96), and Josh Wooten (Jr., Belleville, Mich., Physical Education) did so once with a 10-6 pole vault.
Next: In the next week or so, some individuals may compete in a last chance meet in one final effort to qualify for nationals.
