Green Again Dominates Sprints at Conference Championships
William Penn University Athletics
Clinton–Gabriel Green (Jr., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) paced the William Penn track and field teams with three triumphs at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships Friday and Saturday.
The Statesmen placed fourth out of eight teams in the league with 88 points, while Grand View defended its crown with 238 points.
The Lady Statesmen produced 31 points to place seventh out of eight teams. Grand View defended its women’s title as well with 235 points.
The men won five events, including three by Green in the 100, 200, and 400-meter dashes. For his efforts, the junior was named MCC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year for the second time in his career.
Green paced the 100 field with a time of 10.58 seconds, just 0.01 seconds shy of the school record. His 200 time was 21.80 seconds, while his 400 finish of 48.43 seconds (only 0.14 seconds off the school record) qualified him for the NAIA National Championships by meeting the ‘B’ standard.
Jalen Wilson (Fr., Desoto, Texas, Duncanville HS) and Nick Reynolds (Sr., Riverton, Utah, Iowa Western CC) topped their respective fields as well.
Wilson will join Green at nationals as he qualified with an ‘A’ standard long jump of 23-11.5. The freshman’s mark was only two inches short of the program record.
Reynolds finished first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:51.69.
Sam Taylor (Fr., Eddyville, Eddyville-Blakesburg HS) also had an exceptional weekend by scoring points in three different events. The freshman was fourth in the long jump at 21-9, fifth in the high jump at 6-1.25, and sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 15.24 seconds.
AJ Michael Rachford (Fr., Agency, Cardinal HS) was a two-time point-getter in the hurdling races, taking seventh in the 110 (15.31 seconds) and eighth in the 400 (57.87 seconds).
Fifth-place finishes came from Cody Hill (Fr., New Orleans, La., De Lasalle HS) in the triple jump (42-9.75) and Josh Roudabush (Sr., Brooklyn, BGM HS) in the 800-meter run (2:00.77).
John Kilgore (So., Los Angeles, Calif., West Los Angeles CC) gave the Statesmen two scorers in the 200 with a time of 22.80 seconds (seventh), while Blake Washington (So., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) did the same in the 800 by crossing the line in 2:00.83 (seventh).
William Penn also netted points in the 4×400 (third, 3:22.32) and 4×800-meter relays (fourth, 8:00.86).
Audre Harris (So., Junction City, Kan., Allen CC) had the best individual finish on the women’s side, posting runner-up honors in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.19 seconds.
Alexis Swinney (Fr., McKinney, Texas, McKinney HS) was the next-best finisher, ending fifth in the 200-meter dash (26.94 seconds).
Amanda Wakelin (Fr., Ottumwa, Davis County HS), with a time of 1:02.56 in the 400-meter dash, and Sade Myers (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii, Radford HS), with a time of 2:22.42 in the 800-meter run, both claimed sixths.
Points were also earned in the relays, highlighted by a third in the 4×1 in a time of 49.31 seconds. The Lady Statesmen were fourth in the 4×4 (4:05.69) and seventh in the 4×8 (11:42.43).
Next: Some select individuals may also have one more opportunity to qualify for nationals in a Last Chance Meet next week.
