Eight Event Crowns, One School Record for Statesmen at Bumble Rumble
Davenport–The William Penn men’s track and field team knocked off some rust in a victorious way as it competed at the St. Ambrose Bumble Rumble Saturday.
The Statesmen won eight events and placed high in numerous others as they competed for the first time in 2024.
D’Artagnon Beaver (Jr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services) topped the hefty list of accomplishments by breaking the program’s one-mile run record with a winning time of 4:21.72.
Anthony Weaver (Fr., Demopolis, Ala., Mechanical Engineering) claimed double gold by winning both the 60-meter hurdles in 8.72 seconds and the triple jump at 44-8.25.
Showalter Johnson (Jr., Nassau, Bahamas, New Media) was the best sprinter at the venue by taking the 60-meter dash title in 6.91 seconds, while Ruben Perez-Rodriguez (So., San Antonio, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) headed the 800-meter run field in 2:09.13.
Kwabena Banahene (Fr., Fontana, Calif., Undecided) won the high jump at 5-11.5, while Tahj Ferguson (Sr., Hartford, Conn., Psychology) brought home the win in the long jump at 21-2.75.
Jeremiah Conteh (Sr., Shorewood, Wis., English) had a weight throw mark of 52-2.5 that was also good enough for the victory.
WPU recorded five runner-up placings at the Bumble Rumble, beginning with Ethan Varvelo (Jr., Channelview, Texas, Engineering Technology) in the 800 (2:12.46) and Andrew Miller (Fr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) in the 3,000-meter run (9:05.81).
Micah Mills (Fr., Houston, Texas, Psychology) accomplished the feat as well in the triple jump (44-6), as did Xzavion West (So., Guthrie, Ky., Undecided) in the weight throw (51-5.75). William Penn’s 4×400-meter relay crew also earned silver by hitting the line at 3:53.18.
Five additional bronzes were awarded to Statesmen athletes as well, including Jonah Heckenberg (Sr., Stockport, Iowa, Business Management) in both the 1,000-meter run (2:36.12) and the one-mile run (4:25.47).
Mills notched his second top placing, taking third in the long jump at 20-11.25, while Tom Nyandoro (Jr., Wake Forest, N.C., Information Technology) made it a clean sweep on the podium in the triple jump at 43-6.
Bennett Polite (Jr., Kearney, Mo., Fine Arts) also ended up third in the 200-meter dash in 24.11 seconds.
Ferguson finished fourth in the 60 (7.28) with Rayan Antonia (So., Willensted, Curacao, Business Management) taking fifth (7.30).
One-mile runners Brandon Williams (Jr., Fountain, Colo., Civil Engineering) (4.26:45) and Max Finley (So., Richville, N.Y., Computer Science) (4:27.25) were fifth and sixth, respectively, while Nick Marshall (Jr., Glenpool, Okla., Human Services) notched a pair of top-half showings as a thrower. Marshall placed fourth in the weight throw at 48-8.75 and sixth in the shot put at 43-0.25.
“Our men definitely shook off some rust during this meet,” Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said. “They performed well and were really focusing on executing the game plan when it came down to their respective events. Individually, Jeremiah Conteh did great in the weight throw. To think that he came to William Penn and was not even a thrower, and now see how hard he works to perfect his craft, it makes it fun to be a part of his journey as a coaching staff. Our men’s distance squad, led today by D’Artagnon Beaver, continues to impress meet after meet. I cannot wait to watch the rest of the season unfold for him and our entire men’s squad.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Grinnell next Saturday to compete in the Grinnell Invitational.
