Thompson Qualifies, Four Titles Recorded at CMU Invite
William Penn University Athletics
Fayette, Mo.–Neiman Thompson (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education) had a day he will not soon forget by finally qualified for nationals as he paced the William Penn outdoor track and field teams at the Central Methodist Invitational Saturday.
As a team, the Statesmen men were third out of 11 teams with 101 points, while NCAA Division II Truman (Mo.) won the crown with 142 points. The William Penn women were a respectable fifth out of 12 squads with 47 points; Truman finished the sweep with 207 points.
In three seasons (indoor and outdoor combined), Thompson had come so close to punching his ticket to nationals, but on Saturday the senior finally accomplished the feat in the 400-meter dash.
Thompson placed second in the event with a provisional standard time of 48.46 seconds (ranks seventh in the NAIA). He also won the 200-meter dash in 22.40 seconds.
No other qualifications were earned at the Invitational, but Derek Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) did improve on his ‘A’ standard mark in the discus as he launched the implement a winning distance of 174-10 (second in the NAIA), landing just three inches shy of his school record. The junior was also first in the shot put at 46-3.5 and 10th in the hammer at 117-0.
Tyler Connelly (So., Trenton, Texas, Software Engineering) picked up an event win as well, topping the 3,000-meter steeplechase field in a time of 11:03.60.
Derek Robinson (So., Jenks, Okla., Communications) and Earl George (Jr., Gaithersburg, Md., Biology) also both battled their ways to a trio of top-10 showings. Robinson was second in the discus (146-7), sixth in the hammer (140-2), and eighth in the shot put (41-10.5), while George was fourth in the javelin (137-1), fifth in the 100-meter dash (11.31 seconds), and eighth in the 200 (23.53).
CJ Watts (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education) and Kalob Gist (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) each placed high in two competitions. Watts was third in the 200 in 23.10 seconds and fourth in the 400 in 50.12 seconds, while Gist finished third in the shot at 46-1.25 and ninth in the hammer at 118-2.
Other top-10 finishers included Aaron Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) in the javelin (5th, 128-6), Payton Busch (Jr., Centerville, Iowa, Secondary Education) in the 1,500-meter run (8th, 4:15.66), the 4×100-meter relay team (4th, 44.72 seconds), and the 4×400 crew (5th, 3:36.10).
Meaghan Foster (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) was twice in the top 10 to pace the women’s team. The senior earned silver in the shot put (40-6.75) and was sixth in the hammer (135-8).
Amanda Schrempf (Sr., Marshalltown, Iowa, Sociology) matched her fellow thrower with a pair of high placings, ending up fifth in the discus (112-1) and sixth in the javelin (84-6).
Guadalupe Gonzalez (So., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) took second in the 5,000-meter run (20:29.69), while Tarah Alexander (Sr., Cedar, Iowa, Physical Education) was third in the 1,500 (4:54.36). Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) (5-1) and Kristin Lastovka (Sr., Brooklyn, Iowa, Business Management) (35-6) were both fourth in the high jump and shot put, respectively.
Taylor Richardson (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided) walked off the track sixth in the 400-meter hurdles (1:11.57), while Tiona Clark (Jr., Maywood, Ill., Exercise Science) tossed the shot put a mark of 32-6.25 for ninth place. The 4×4 group finished seventh in a time of 4:33.54.
Next Up: William Penn travels to Liberty, Mo. next Friday to compete in the Darrel Gourley Open hosted by William Jewell.
