Statesmen Prepped for Outdoor Nationals

William Penn University Athletics

by Wade Steinlage

Oskaloosa–Five individuals will compete in six different events as William Penn competes at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships Thursday through Saturday.

The Championships are held at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Derek Robinson (Sr., Jenks, Okla., Communications) will headline the crew by throwing the discus and the hammer in his final Championships. He currently ranks sixth in the hammer at 191-1, while Erik Escobedo of Bethel (Ind.) enters first in the nation at 226-6.

Robinson is also 10th in discus at 165-6, while Grand View’s James Plummer is first at 183-8. It is Robinson’s fourth time at nationals.

Malik Williams (Fr., Kansas City, Mo., Industrial Technology) will join Robinson in the discus. The freshman, who is making his first nationals appearance, ranks 34th in the NAIA at 157-0.

Fellow freshman Mofiyinfoluwa Alade (Fr., Hoffman Estates, Ill.) is returning to nationals (competed in indoor) as a high jumper and enters the meet 18th at 6-7.5. Qua Stocks of Reinhardt (Ga.) is #1 at 6-11.75.

Vashti Nwagbaraocha (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., Exercise Science) is Alade’s high-jumping counterpart on the women’s side. The junior, who is making her first nationals appearance, currently has the eighth-best mark in the country at 5-6, while Chelsea Baker of Friends (Kan.) is first at 5-10.5.

Guadalupe Gonzalez (Sr., Houston, Texas, Exercise Science) is also back at nationals, running again in the marathon (second trip). She has qualified ninth, completing a half marathon in a time of 1:26:46; Stephanie Johnston of Concordia (Mich.) tops the field with a half-marathon time of 1:22:45.

As a team, William Penn will be seeking to garner an All-America honor for the eighth-straight national meet, dating back to the indoor meet in 2015.