Alexander Breaks School Record to Lead WPU at Central
William Penn University Athletics
Pella–Tarah Alexander (Sr., Cedar, Iowa, Physical Education) darted past the competition en route to breaking a record that has stood for nearly 30 years as she and the rest of her William Penn indoor track and field teammates competed at the Central Dutch Athletics Classic Saturday.
The men were second out of 11 teams with 96 points (Central won with 131), while the women were eighth out of 12 squads with 45 points (Grand View had 113).
Alexander broke her second school mark of the season (also set a new one-mile run time), taking down a 1,000-meter run mark that had stood since 1988 (Desiree Orwig, 3:13.67). The senior won the event in a time of 3:08.34, three-plus seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Several other Statesmen women were in the top 10 in their respective events, including three who earned bronze. Addison Kepner (Sr., Cincinnati, Iowa, Biology) was third in the one-mile run at 5:44.34, while Alora Simmons (Sr., Newton, Iowa, Elementary Education) took third in the high jump at 4-6.25. Meaghan Foster (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) claimed the bronze as well, throwing the shot put 42-4.25. Foster also finished sixth in the weight throw (47-2.5).
Taylor Richardson (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) joined Foster as a two-time scorer, placing fourth in the long jump at 15-9.5 and eighth in the 400-meter dash in 1:07.76.
Kristin Lastovka (Sr., Brooklyn, Iowa, Business Management) gave WPU a second scorer in the shot put (fourth, 39-5.25), while Guadalupe Gonzalez (So., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) was sixth in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 12:01.28.
A trio of men–a sprinter, a jumper, and a thrower–won both gold and silver at the Classic. Neiman Thompson (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education) was triumphant in the 60-meter dash in 6.98 seconds and was second in the 200 in 22.94 seconds. Cornelius McCastle (Jr., McKinney, Texas, Industrial Technology) topped the long jump field at 20-9 and was the high jump runner-up at 6-6.25. Derek Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) launched the longest shot put of the day at 49-7 and was second in the weight throw at 56-7.25.
CJ Watts (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education) was one spot from claiming his own event crown, walking off with second in the 400 in 51.04 seconds. Michael Hubbard (Fr., Gary, Ind., Exercise Science) (ninth, 53.84) and Spencer Medlin (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Secondary Education) (10th, 53.98) joined Watts in the top 10.
Joshua Rankin (Sr., University Park, Ill., Sociology) claimed third place with a mark of 41-1 in the triple jump, while Payton Busch (Jr., Centerville, Iowa, Secondary Education) (1,000, 2:40.04) and the 4×400-meter relay team (3:33.96) were fourth and Markenson Charles (Jr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Industrial Technology) was fifth in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.81 seconds.
Kalob Gist (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) (sixth, 44-4.75) and Derek Robinson (So., Jenks, Okla., Communications) (seventh, 43-4.5) ended up a few spots behind Seddon in the shot put standings.
“This was another solid performance by both of our squads,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “With a lot of conference schools at this meet, it gives us a pretty good idea of where we are at and what we need to do.”
Next Up: William Penn will travel to Grinnell next Saturday to compete in the Grinnell Invitational.
