Leiba Headlines Pair of School Records, National Qualifications at CMU Event
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Fayette, Mo.–The Statesmen track and field teams took advantage of the first great weather of the spring as they put in a terrific outing at the Central Methodist Invitational Saturday.
A total of four event crowns were won, but that was only the proverbial cherry on top of an amazing day for the navy and gold that ended with a pair of long-standing school records falling as well as two national championship tickets being punched.
Chris Leiba (Jr., Olympia, Wash., Business Management) guided WPU, posting the fastest 100-meter dash time in program history. His event-winning time of 10.51 seconds snapped Derrick Newton’s previous record of 10.57 seconds from 1985. It also eclipses the NAIA’s automatic-qualifying standard.
The junior, who earned the gold in the 200 as well with a time of 21.80 seconds, was also a member of William Penn’s 4×100-meter relay team. He joined forces with Joel Brown (Fr., Columbus, Ga.), Tristen Elmore (Jr., Ovied, Fla., Physical Education), and Michael Hubbard (Sr., Gary, Ind., Exercise Science) to top the field for another school record of 41.29 seconds, snapping a mark from 1986 and 2017 of 41.92 seconds.
The 4×1 team will also receive an invitation to nationals by hitting the ‘A’ standard.
Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Sr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) matched Leiba and the relay crew with a victory of her own, beating all competitors with a high jump of 5-3.
Overall, the WPU men were fifth out of 16 scoring teams with 89 points, while Baker won the team title with 120 points. The women finished sixth out of 17 scoring teams with 50 points; Benedictine was first with 154.5 points.
Mofiyinfoluwa Alade (So., Hoffman Estates, Ill.) topped the crew of individuals who did not take an event title as he was second in the high jump (6-4.75) and fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.77 seconds).
Brown was a two-time point-gatherer as well, taking third in the 200 in 22.10 and fifth in the 100 in 10.91.
Kenneth Bolton III (Fr., South Riding, Va.), who completed the 800-meter run in 1:57:53, and Tyler Albert (Sr., Eldon, Iowa, Engineering Technology), who launched his javelin 162-1, both ended up in runner-up positions. Kainalu Batongbacal (Fr., Goldbar, Wash., Applied Technology) was right behind Albert, receiving the javelin bronze at 159-2.
Elmore was fourth in the 100 (10.70), while Loys Parker (Fr., St. Louis, Mo.) (41-11.5 in the triple jump) and Jace Lukefahr (Fr., Newton, Iowa) (135-8 in the discus) were both sixth in their respective competitions.
The women were paced by their sprinting group, including having four individuals finish in the top 10 in the 100. Alexzandrea Woudenberg (So., Ottumwa, Iowa) was fifth (12.81), Danisha Washington (So., Peoria, Ill.) took sixth (12.95), and both Asia Laudermilch (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Physical Education) and Raven Williams (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev.) finished ninth (13.15) in the event.
Williams, in second (26.56), and Woudenberg in sixth (27.02), found success in the 200 as well.
Elayna VanArsdale (Jr., Bensalem, Pa., Secondary Education) was twice in the top 10, placing fourth in the discus at 122-11 and ninth in the shot put at 35-8, while Becky Cleppe (Jr., St. Petersburg, Fla., Physical Education) took fourth in the javelin at 99-5.
Ashley Omoregie (Fr., Old Bridge, N.J.) narrowly missed scoring points for WPU in the 400 as she was ninth in a time of 1:02.60.
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Saturday to host the William Penn Open at Statesmen Stadium.
