Seddon Qualifies in Outdoor Opener
William Penn University Athletics
Des Moines–Derek Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) is starting the outdoor season the same way he ended the indoor campaign as he qualified for nationals at the Grand View Invitational Friday.
Seddon, an All-American in the indoor shot put, met the NAIA’s ‘B’ standard by winning the same event at 50-6. The junior was also fifth in the hammer throw at 159-10.
Kalob Gist (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management), in third place at 47-8, and Derek Robinson (So., Jenks, Okla., Communications), in seventh at 43-7, also finished in the top 10 in the shot put event. Robinson was actually the team’s lone three-time top-10 finisher, placing eighth in the discus (133-10) and 10th in the hammer (134-2).
Three individuals finished in fourth place at the Invitational: Aaron Seddon (So., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) (javelin, 129-0), Tyler Albert (Fr., Eldon, Iowa, Engineering Technology) (110-meter hurdles, 17.89 seconds), and Garrett Heckman (So., New Virginia, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) (pole vault, 8-2.5).
Michael Hubbard (Fr., Gary, Ind., Exercise Science) had two strong showings in the sprints, placing sixth in both the 100-meter dash in 11.72 seconds and the 200 in 24.25 seconds.
Alyssa Phillips (Jr., Gurnee, Ill., Communications) guided the women’s team with gold in the high jump at 5-1. Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Fr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) matched Phillips at 5-1, but placed second in the competition.
1,500-meter run racers Guadalupe Gonzalez (So., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) (2nd, 5:19.90) and Addison Kepner (Sr., Cincinnati, Iowa, Biology) (3rd, 5:21.68) were just under two seconds apart at the finish line.
Meaghan Foster (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) was the only individual to post two top-10 placings as she was third in the shot put at 40-9.75 and seventh in the discus at 111-4.
“This was a pretty good day for us with most everyone ending up in the top five,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “If this is an indication of how the outdoor season is going to go, we will have a pretty good season.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Pella next Saturday to compete in the Central Invitational.
