Seddon Qualifies in Outdoor Season Opener

William Penn University Athletics

Des Moines–Derek Seddon (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) was tremendous in the outdoor track and field season opener as he punched his ticket to nationals at the Grand View Invitational Saturday.

Seddon, who placed second in the discus at last year’s national meet, won Saturday’s event with an automatic-qualifying mark of 175-3. The throw ranks third all-time in program history; Seddon owns the top 10 marks at WPU.

The Invitational, which was marred by cold, windy weather, was a small affair with just a handful of teams competing and only a handful or so individuals in each competition.

The Statesmen’s 4×100-meter relay squad was also tops Saturday as it crossed the line in a time of 42.89 seconds.

Bronze finishes were also tallied by Derek Robinson (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Communications) in the hammer throw at 153-5 and Markenson Charles (Sr., Lehigh Acres, Fla., Industrial Technology) in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.87. Robinson was also fifth in the discus (148-7), while Sage Ehresman (Fr., Sully, Iowa, Exercise Science) took fifth as well in the javelin (129-5).

Asia Laudermilch (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education), in 12.71 seconds in the 100-meter dash, and Becky Cleppe (Fr., St. Petersburg, Fla., Physical Education), at 92-7 in the javelin, were both runners-up on the women’s side. Elayna VanArsdale (Fr., Bensalem, Pa., Secondary Education) also had a strong performance in the discus, ending up fourth at 110-10.

“Our toughest opponent today was the weather,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “We still managed some solid performances with the small group we took.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Pella next Saturday to compete in the Central Invitational.