Record-Breaking Outing Highlights WPU’s Return to Competition
Davenport–Abigaille Batu-Tiako (Sr., Plattsburgh, N.Y., Business Management) broke her own long jump record as she guided the Statesmen women’s track and field team at the St. Ambrose Bumble Rumble Saturday.
In William Penn’s first action since December, Batu-Tiako set a new school record in the long jump with a mark of 17-9. She placed first in the event, just ahead of teammate A’luel Miller (Fr., Kansas City, Kan., Wellness and Recreation) who took second and also broke the previous distance, which stood at 17-6.25, with a jump of 17-6.75.
The long jump title was not the only one for the navy and gold on Saturday. Lilly Ostert (Fr., Madrid, Iowa, Exercise Science) also guided the 200-meter dash field with a time of 27.22 seconds. The freshman was second in the 60-meter dash as well in 7.92 seconds.
Batu-Tiako was right behind Ostert in the 60, taking third in 8.04 seconds, while Alexandra Rose (Jr., Quincy, Ill., Exercise Science) was fourth (8.07) and Miller was sixth (8.17).
William Penn had numerous high finishers in the 200 as well. Following Ostert’s gold, Grace Willms (Fr., Monticello, Iowa, Psychology) placed second (27.41), Tabitha Rogers (So., Venice, Calif., Elementary Education) was third (27.82), and Rose took was fourth (28.08).
Briana Admire (Fr., Galesburg, Ill., Biology) headlined the distance runners as she was second in the 1,000-meter run in a time of 3:22.02, while sisters Elizabeth Hele (Sr., Victorville, Calif., Biology) and Charlotte Hele (Apple Valley, Calif., Undecided) were third and fourth, respectively, in the one-mile run with times of 5:54.02 and 5:57.67.
Erica Martin (Sr., Detroit, Mich., Sports Management) was the top Statesmen thrower in the shot put with a runner-up distance of 39.25. The senior was also seventh in the weight throw at 33-10.25.
Phoebe Burt (Jr., Iowa City, Iowa, Sociology) had a strong day as well, taking fourth in both throws. She launched the shot put a distance of 36-6.25 and sent the weight throw a length of 35-8.5.
“Our ladies had a good start to the 2024 calendar year and definitely got the ball rolling in the right direction,” Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said. “We saw a lot of personal records today across the board. It is always fun to watch an athlete put in the work and reap the rewards. Our long jumpers had an especially good day. They are really starting to understand the concepts we have been working on at practice and the pieces are falling into place. To see our women really shining today and watching how they are starting to stack up against other individuals in our conference is fun to see. We have some very talented individuals who work hard and that is a recipe for success.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Grinnell next Saturday to compete in the Grinnell Invitational.
