William Penn Athletics News–April 25
William Penn University Athletics
Edwards, Seddon Qualify at Kip Janvrin
Indianola–Two individuals qualified for nationals and two records were broken as the Statesmen track and field teams competed well at the Simpson Kip Janvrin Open Thursday and Friday.
Alex Edwards (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Secondary Education) and Derek Seddon (Fr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) punched their tickets for next month’s NAIA National Championships, while Edwards and Cornelius McCastle (Fr., McKinney, Texas, Industrial Technology) destroyed their own program marks.
Edwards placed second in the 800-meter run with a new school-record time of 1:52.46, and Seddon was fifth overall in the discus throw at 157-9. Both performances are NAIA automatic-qualifying standards and give William Penn a total of five qualifiers, joining McCastle in the high jump, Rosemary Bailey (Jr., Fayetteville, Ark., Communications) in the half marathon, and Sam Taylor (Jr., Eddyville, Iowa, Industrial Technology) in the 110-meter hurdles.
McCastle, who has already eclipsed the division’s ‘A’ standard, continues to boggle minds in the high jump with a runner-up finish at 6-10.25.
Seddon also tossed the hammer, placing 17th at 124-7.
William Penn’s trio of sprinters headlined a lengthy list of other high showings. Kenbea Walker (Jr., McKinney, Texas, History/Government) was 13th in the 200-meter dash (23.36 seconds) and 16th in the 100 (11.48), while Dejon Shaw (Fr., Highland Park, Mich., Mechanical Engineering) also had two top-20 finishes (15th, 200, 23.41 seconds; 19th, 100, 11.55 seconds). Jonathan Ward (So., Terry, Miss., Undecided) took 20th in the 100 in 11.56 seconds.
Chris Gossett (Fr., Park Forest, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) and Joshua Rankin (Fr., University Park, Ill., Undecided) were both in the mix in the triple jump with Gossett finishing 11th (42-0.75) and Rankin right behind him in 12th (41-1). Van Love-Scott (Jr., Detroit, Mich., Education) and Colt Brumbaugh (Sr., Keswick, Iowa, Industrial Technology) gave the navy and gold a pair of top-20 placers in the javelin as well. Love-Scott was ninth at 145-10 and Brumbaugh was 12th at 120-4.
The 4×400-meter relay team crossed the line in eighth (3:26.54), while Stepfon Williams (So., St. Louis, Mo., Industrial Technology) was 15th in the 400-meter dash (51.20 seconds) and Kalob Gist (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) was 16th in the shot put (42-1.5).
Meaghan Foster (So., Centerville, Iowa, Undecided) topped WPU on the women’s side with two strong performances. The sophomore was 12th in the shot put at 38-2 and 19th in the hammer at 118-4. Fellow throwers Emma Hoerr (So., Chillicothe, Ill., Physical Education) (14th, discus, 120-4) and Kristin Lastovka (So., Brooklyn, Iowa, Business Management) (18th, javelin, 92-0) also did well in the field.
Tarah Alexander (So., Cedar, Iowa, Undecided) was 18th in the 800 (2:25.98), while 20th-place efforts came from Bailey (5,000-meter run, 19:51.24) and Sade Myers (Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii, Elementary Education) (400, 1:03.96).
Next: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa to host the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships next Thursday-Saturday. The multi-events will be contested Thursday and Friday and the regular meet will be on Friday and Saturday at Lacey Complex Stadium.
Statesmen Take Over League Lead with Sweep of Viterbo
La Crosse, Wis.–The William Penn softball team took care of its business Friday and got some help as it now sits atop the league after sweeping Viterbo in a Midwest Collegiate Conference doubleheader.
The Statesmen (30-17, 16-4), who won by scores of 10-5 and 2-0, have now won four in a row overall and eight straight in the MCC. Courtesy of Mount Mercy also sweeping Grand View, the navy and gold now hold a one-game lead over the Vikings (15-5 MCC) with just four games left on the league slate. It is the first time this season that GVU has relinquished control of the conference lead.
Weather permitting, WPU hosts Grand View in Oskaloosa for a twinbill Sunday at 1 p.m., following two games against AIB Saturday in Des Moines (1 p.m. start).
The visitors attacked the V-Hawks (15-27, 8-14 MCC) from the opening pitch, plating two runs in the first despite only having one hit (one VU error, two batters hit by pitch). The hosts responded with three runs, but the rest of the day belonged to the current MCC leaders.
Ashlee Dennis (Jr., Loveland, Colo., Biology) had an RBI double in the second, while Sydney Edwards (Jr., Galesburg, Ill., Psychology & Biology) contributed a run-scoring single later in the frame. Jorden Steele (Jr., Tacoma, Wash., Physical Education) then went to work in the third as she cleared the fence for a solo home run–her seventh of 2014 to make it 6-3.
The V-Hawks narrowed the margin to one with two runs in the fourth, but Bri Zerley (Jr., Monroe, Iowa, Biology) provided an answer with a solo shot of her own in the fifth (her seventh). Four sixth-inning singles produced two more runs and Steele put the contest out of reach with a double that plated Zerley in the seventh.
A 12-9 edge in hits was secured with assistance from Steele going 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Zerley (two runs) and Edwards (two RBIs) were both 2-for-3. Malloree Grove (Sr., Runnells, Iowa, Physical Education) rounded the bases three times, while Dennis finished with two RBIs.
Jennifer Whitehead (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Biology) did enough in the pitching circle to improve to 20-7. Already the program leader in career wins (currently at 81), the senior became the first WPU pitcher to win 20 games three separate years (2011, 2012, 2014). The senior gave up five runs (all earned) on nine hits, while striking out seven and walking two.
Brittanee Grove (Jr., Runnells, Iowa, Elementary Education) stole the show in the nightcap with dazzling outings in the batter’s box and on the rubber. The junior moved to 6-5 by permitting just one base knock through 5 1/3 innings. She had two strikeouts and two walks and worked out of a fifth-inning jam (two WPU errors) right after producing the day’s biggest hit.
In the top of the fifth, Grove broke up a scoreless tie with a two-run single that brought around Dennis and Sonia Ray (Sr., San Diego, Calif., Physical Education).
Possibly due to such a draining fifth frame, Grove ran out of gas in the sixth by allowing the first two batters to reach base. That forced the coaching staff to bring Whitehead out of the bullpen. The senior was electric in relief, striking out three for her second save of the spring.
Grove was 2-for-2, while the Statesmen held a 6-2 advantage in hits.
