Statesmen Tally Second-Highest Directors’ Cup Finish
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–An unforgettable run by the men’s basketball team and big points from four other sports helped the William Penn athletics department to one of its best national finishes ever as the final 2012-2013 NAIA Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup Standings were released recently.
William Penn earned 245.5 points to place 61st in the NAIA. A total of 204 NAIA institutions scored points in the standings, while nearly 300 schools comprise the division.
The finish is the best since the department was a record-high 54th in 2003-2004 (261 points).
The Statesmen men’s basketball program paved the way as its national runner-up showing earned the navy and gold 90 points.
Behind the legs of sophomore long jumper Jalen Wilson and his two All-America placings, the WPU men’s track and field team picked up another 78.5 points on a pair of 34th-place finishes (40 points in the indoor, 38.5 in the outdoor).
Sophomore grappler Kyle Soderblom was seventh at 197 pounds at March’s wrestling national championships to give William Penn 52 more additional points (22nd place).
William Penn’s scoring began in the fall with the football team collecting 25 points for reaching the first round of the playoffs.
With Azusa Pacific (Calif.) and its eight consecutive Cup titles moving to NCAA Division II, the door was left wide open for the rest of the membership.
Oklahoma Baptist filled the void, dominating the standings with 964 points. OBU recorded four national titles in men’s and women’s swimming and men’s and women’s indoor track and field. The Bison also finished second in men’s and women’s outdoor track and field, and fourth in men’s cross country.
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) was a distant second with 797 points, while Concordia (Calif.) was third with 781 points. Embry-Riddle (Fla.), with 742.5 points, and Lee (Tenn.), with 707 points, rounded out the top five.
It was a nice mix of conference representation at the top with the nine different leagues in the top ten. The Sooner Conference was the lone conference with multiple teams, including Oklahoma Baptist at #1 and Oklahoma City at #10.
Five of the seven schools from the Midwest Collegiate Conference scored points in the Cup, with William Penn ranking second behind only #27 Grand View with 416 points.
Mount Mercy was next in 84th with 137 points, while St. Ambrose also slipped in the top 100 (T-90th, 132 points). Viterbo was 119th with 98 points.
The Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in up to 12 sports-six men’s and women’s.
