Statesmen Claim Half Dozen Crowns at Central Invite
Pella–The William Penn men’s track and field team opened up the post-holiday part of its indoor schedule by competing in the Central Dutch Athletic Classic Friday.
Xzavion West (Sr., Guthrie, Ky., Psychology) guided the navy and gold with a pair of titles. He took the shot put at 53-1.5, and then was the weight throw champion at 61-2.25. Already a national qualifier in the shot put, the senior added weight throw qualifier to his list as he surpassed the ‘A’ standard. He now ranks third in the NAIA with his toss.
The sprinters and distance runners also earned victories, beginning with Youssef Hamed (Jr., Al Wakrah, Qatar, Business Management) in the 200-meter dash in a winning time of 22.46 seconds. The 400-meter dash championship went to Sean Knockel (Sr., New Sharon, Iowa, Physical Education) in 52.65 seconds, while Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) hit the line first in the one-mile run in 4:33.92.
Andrew Miller (Jr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) earned the 3,000-meter run victory as well in a time of 9:17.17.
A trio of silvers were garnered by the navy and gold, including Damarius Parker (Fr., Des Moines, Iowa, General Accounting) in the 400 (52.94). Wyatt Wallingford (Jr., Weston, Mo., Nursing) also accomplished the feat in the pole vault (10-4.75), while Myrhon Addison (Fr., Glennville, Ga., Sports Management) had a runner-up finish in the shot put at 47-7.75. Addison was also seventh in the weight throw at 46-3.25.
Travaughn Robbins-Hall (So., Lauderhill, Fla., Software Engineering) was one of three more individuals to tally podium finishes as he was third in the 60-meter dash in 7.01 seconds. Christopher Smith (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) also won the bronze in the 200 (24.00), as did Nicholas Knowles II (Fr., Nassau, Bahamas, Business Management) in the long jump (20-4.5).
John Webb (Jr., Dothan, Ala., Exercise Science) was next, finishing fourth in the long jump (20-1.5), while Cale Sudbeck (Jr., Hinton, Iowa, Exercise Science) placed fifth in the 200 (24.26). Sudbeck was also 14th in the 60 (7.35).
The duo of Carson Springer (Jr., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management), with a time of 9:29.22 in the 3,000-meter run, and Fredrick Kolla Nguimdo (Jr., Wheaton, Md., Secondary Education), with a toss of 46-9.5 in the weight throw, were both sixth.
Three more individuals also finished high in the 60 as K’Juan Johnson (Fr., Nassau, Bahamas, Business Management) placed eighth (7.17 in the finals, 7.12 in the prelims), Rayan Antonia (So., Willensted, Curacao, Business Management) ended up 12th (7.32), and Micah Mills (Jr., Houston, Texas, Psychology) finished 13th (7.33).
Brayden Veiseth (Fr., New Sharon, Iowa, Industrial Technology) managed a 10th-place effort in the mile in 4:51.67.
“Knocking the dust off from break is just what was needed,” Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said. “Xzavion West was definitely a standout in the weight throw today; we saw some nice pieces coming together. It is just the beginning of indoor season, so we are excited to see how he builds from here.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Iowa City next Friday and Saturday to compete in the Larry Wieczorek Invitational hosted by Iowa.
