School Record Lifts Moeller to Second All-America Honor
Marion, Ind.– Justin Moeller (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Psychology) broke his own school record as he paced the William Penn track and field teams at the NAIA National Championships Wednesday and Thursday.
Moeller became the 30th All-American in men’s program history as he placed fourth in the decathlon with a new school record of 6,762 points.
The senior, who was also an All-American during the indoor season (fifth in the heptathlon), accomplished the feat in just his second attempt ever in the 10-disclipline competition. He won the Heart of America Athletic Conference title earlier this month in his first try in the decathlon with a then-school record 6,638 points.
Moeller was consistent for much of the competition, while topping the 16-athlete field in the pole vault with a mark of 14-5.25 for 731 points. He had his best outing, however, with 812 points as he crossed the line in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.31 seconds. He also managed over 800 points (809 to be exact) with a long jump of 22-10.75, while scoring over 700 in four other events.
Showalter Johnson (So., Nassau, Bahamas, Business Management) also performed well, but was unable to reach the finals in his two individual races. The sophomore was 21st in the 100-meter dash in 10.56 seconds and took 29th in the 200-meter dash in 21.53 seconds.
Johnson was a member of William Penn’s 4×100-meter relay team as well. The squad, which also included Jaelen Love (Sr., Crown Point, Ind., English), Nick Richardson-Jackson (Sr., Germantown, Md., Wellness and Recreation), and Johnny Fisher (Fr., Laporte, Colo., New Media) placed 37th overall in 41.93 seconds.
Tafara Hondonga (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D., Business Management) and Abigaille Batu-Tiako (Jr., Plattsburgh, N.Y., Business Management) also qualified for nationals, but were unable to post marks. Hondonga was injured earlier in the week and withdrew from competition in the 400-meter dash, while Batu-Tiako unfortunately fouled on all of her long jump attempts.
Overall, the Statesmen men tallied five points to place 48th out of 78 teams that scored points at nationals.
“We competed well the last few days,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “Justin was awesome on the big stage with his school record. Showalter also ran very well in his individual races. Overall, I like what we accomplished, but I know our athletes are hungry for more.”
