Robinson Breaks Own Hammer Record in Last Chance Meet
William Penn University Athletics
by Wade Steinlage
Seward, Neb.–Derek Robinson (Sr., Jenks, Okla., Communications) will enter nationals with one of the best hammer throw marks in the NAIA after breaking his own record at the Concordia Twilight Friday.
Just two weeks ago, Robinson set a new hammer record with a distance of 188-6, but on Friday he crushed that toss with another new record of 191-1. The senior placed fourth overall and is now ranked sixth in the nation. He ended up within striking distance of Jacob Cornelio (Concordia-Neb.) (2nd, 194-8) and Nathan Houser (Midland) (3rd, 193-5), both of whom are ranked higher than him in the NAIA.
Robinson was also ninth in the discus at 161-9.
Mofiyinfoluwa Alade (Fr., Hoffman Estates, Ill.), who has already qualified in the high jump, failed to improve upon his ranking, finishing fifth at 6-6.
Tyler Albert (Jr., Eldon, Iowa, Engineering Technology), in third in the javelin at 164-2, and Dajon Shaw (Sr., Highland Park, Mich., Exercise Science), in fifth in the 100-meter dash in 11.08 seconds, unfortunately came up shy of hitting a qualifying standard Friday.
“Overall, I thought we performed very well, highlighted by Derek’s new school record,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “We definitely ended the regular season on a positive note.”
William Penn will have a strong contingency in Gulf Shores, Ala. on March 24-26 for the NAIA National Championships. Robinson (discus, hammer) and Alade (high jump) will be joined by Malik Williams (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., Industrial Technology) (discus) and Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) (high jump) as national qualifiers.
