Elmore, Seddon Lead Statesmen to Second at Heart Championships

William Penn University Athletics

Oskaloosa–In being two of the best athletes at the entire meet, Tristen Elmore (Fr., Ovied, Fla., Physical Education) and Derek Seddon (Sr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) helped the William Penn men’s track and field team to silver at the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships Friday and Saturday.

Elmore had a hand in WPU tallying top-three points in five separate events (one win), while Seddon dominated the throwing competitions as the Statesmen finished second with 120 points. MidAmerica Nazarene was first with 177 points. William Penn snatched runner-up honors in the indoor campaign as well.

Elmore’s day was highlighted by winning the long jump with an oh-so-near-qualifying mark of 23-2.5 (0.25 inches from qualifying). The freshman was also second in the 200-meter dash in 21.68 seconds, and third in both the 100-meter dash (‘A’ standard of 10.63 seconds) and the high jump (6-6.25).

For his efforts in scoring 31.5 points in individual events, he was named Male Athlete of the Meet (based on points).

Seddon had no equal in the throws, topping all three events in which he competed easily. His best toss came in the hammer where he set a new school record at 184-10. The senior was also first in the shot put (51-4.25) and the discus (175-8). For the Championships, Seddon was second in individual scoring with 30 points, giving WPU’s 1-2 punch over half of its total points at 61.5 points.

Derek Robinson (Jr., Jenks, Okla., Communications) was also a huge figure in the field events for the navy and gold, scoring points in a trio of competitions. The junior was third in the discus (158-4), fourth in the shot put (46-11), and eighth in the hammer (155-7).

Payton Busch (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Secondary Education) and Kewan Slaton (Fr., Lakeland, Tenn., Computer Science) both managed points in two events each. Busch finished fifth in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:10.97 and placed seventh in the 800-meter run in 2:01.74, while Slaton crossed the line in sixth in the 400-meter dash in 50.22 seconds and ended up seventh in the 200 in 22.52 seconds.

Zane Jacobs (Fr., Idabel, Okla., Business Management) took home bronze in the high jump at 6-6.25, while three other Statesmen placed eighth in their respective standings. Chris Leiba (Fr., Olympia, Wash., Business Management) did so in the 100 (10.99), while Sage Ehresman (Fr., Sully, Iowa, Exercise Science) posted the performance in the javelin (163-7) and Malik Williams added a team point in the discus (140-1).

All three relays were good for points as well, highlighted by the 4×100-meter crew tying the program mark at 41.92 to finish second. The school record has stood since 1986.

The 4×4 team was third in 3:24.25 and the 4×8 squad was eighth in 8:47.71.

Zack Johnson (Jr., Decatur, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) just missed getting WPU additional points, taking 10th in the 800 in a time of 2:03.14.

Behind points from Guadalupe Gonzalez (Jr., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) in two races, the Statesmen women were 12th out of 13 teams with 19 points. Grand View edged MidAmerica Nazarene for the team crown, 149-145.

Gonzalez recorded points in the two longest running events, finishing second in the 10,000-meter run (41:05.56) and sixth in the 5,000-meter run (19:33.03).

Asia Laudermilch (Fr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) was twice in the top eight as well. She placed sixth in the 100 in 12.40 seconds and was eighth (did not compete in the finals) in the 200 in 26.00.

Akilah Dorsey (Fr., Maywood, Ill., Psychology) was good for points in the 400 (sixth, 1:01.08), as was Becky Cleppe (Fr., St. Petersburg, Fla., Physical Education) in the hammer (eighth, 141-1). The squad’s 4×1 relay was also eighth in 50.94.

Taylor Richardson (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Undecided), at 4-7 in the high jump, and Elayna VanArsdale (Fr., Bensalem, Pa., Secondary Education), at 130-0 in the hammer, both came up just shy of adding to William Penn’s point total as they finished in 10th place.

“I am so proud of our athletes today,” Head Coach All Friesen said. “They put it all on the line and performed so well. It was a tremendous weekend!”

Next Up: William Penn will look to add some more names to its national-qualifying list as it competes at a last-chance meet next weekend.