Men Battle to Silver at Heart Indoor Championships
William Penn University Athletics
Jacksonville, Ill.–The William Penn men’s track and field team put itself in the mix for its first league crown in over a decade, but finished just short as WPU competed at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday.
The Statesmen men placed second out of 12 squads with 128 points, but MidAmerica Nazarene was a bit better with 168 points. The William Penn women were 11th with 10 points, while MNU finished the sweep with 179.5 points.
WPU claimed a total of seven school records with four by the men and three more by the women.
Jamal Boma (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa, Business Management and Physical Education) headlined the navy and gold’s performances with two victories–both of which were new program records. The senior won the 3,000-meter run in 8:48.73 and was also first in the 5,000-meter race in 15:25.76; he also took seventh in the one-mile run in 4:30.97.
Derek Seddon (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) and Tristen Elmore (Fr., Ovied, Fla., Physical Education) were event champions as well. Seddon took the weight throw win with a school record of 62-6 and also earned runner-up honors in the shot put at 48-1.75.
Elmore managed a trio of high finishes, including gold in the high jump at 6-10.75. The freshman also took home bronze in both the 200-meter dash (22.72 seconds) and long jump (23-1.25).
Four other Statesmen also scored points in multiple competitions. Chris Leiba (Fr., Olympia, Wash., Business Management) was third in the 60-meter dash (7.01) and fourth in the 200 (22.77), while Zack Johnson (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) matched Leiba with a third (1,000-meter run, 2:37.75) and a fourth (800-meter run, 2:00.04).
Payton Busch (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Secondary Education) ended up second in the 800 (1:58.22) and sixth in the 600 (1:24.00), while Marcus Hastings (So., North Las Vegas, Nev., Sociology) finished third in the high jump (6-5) and fifth in the long jump (22-4.25).
Fifth-place performances came from Markenson Charles (Sr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Industrial Technology) in the 60-meter hurdles (8.66), Kewan Slaton (Fr., Lakeland, Tenn., Computer Science) in the 400 (50.86), and Zane Jacobs (Fr., Idabel, Okla., Business Management) in the high jump (6-3.25).
Malik Brown (Jr., Long Beach, Calif., Psychology), in the 60 (7.10), Mykeal Holliman (Fr., Rockford, Ill., Industrial Technology), in the 200 (23.11), and Derek Robinson (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Communications), in the weight throw (48-9), all placed seventh, while Charles Hurt (So., Gary, Ind., Sociology) picked up a point with an eighth-place showing in the 600 (1:24.31).
Earl George (Sr., Gaithersburg, Md., Biology) did the hardest work, competing in seven different events as part of the heptathlon and finishing fifth with 4,131 points. The senior, who broke a school record as well, topped the field in the 60 and the shot put.
Asia Laudermilch (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) recorded one of the two new records on the women’s side as she finished fourth in the 60 in 7.91. The freshman also broke the 200 school record in 26.66 (placed ninth).
The distance medley relay crew, which placed sixth, notched another program mark at 14:31.46. Guadalupe Gonzalez (Jr., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) was eighth in the mile in 5:40.38, while the 4×800-meter team was also eighth in 11:30.22.
“God has blessed me with outstanding young men and women to work with,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “We had tons of personal bests and school records this weekend. I am very proud of what both squads accomplished. This really was a great team effort.”
Next Up: William Penn plans to split its squads next Saturday, taking some individuals to Pella for the Central Invitational and some to Waverly for the Wartburg Invitational.
