William Penn Athletics News February 13
William Penn University Athletics
Penn Men Take Four Golds at Indoor League Championships
Sterling, Ill.–Led by an exceptionally strong showing in the sprints, the Statesmen track and field team fared well at the Midwest Collegiate Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday.
The Penn men won four of the 18 events to finish fourth with 125 points. Grand View dethroned defending champion St. Ambrose with 193.5 points to win for the second time in the MCC’s three-year history of the championships. St. Ambrose was runner-up with 167 points, while Ashford held off the Statesmen for bronze with 127 points. Mount Mercy (43) and Clarke (37.5) rounded out the standings, while Iowa Wesleyan failed to score points.
Carlos Stepter (Sr., Highland Park, Mich., Highland Park HS) took the crown in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.45 seconds, holding off teammate Gabriel Green (So., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) and his time of 6.49 seconds.
Green then bettered Stepter in the next-shortest sprint, winning the 200 in a time of 22.42 seconds. Stepter was second in a time of 22.45 seconds.
Both winners broke previous meet records.
Green added his second title, pounding the competition in the 400 with a time of 50.54 seconds, while Josh Roudabush (Sr., Brooklyn, BGM HS) also scored points in the race, placing sixth at 52.16 seconds.
Roudabush gave a good fight in the 600 as well, finishing second in a time of 1:23.97.
In his first competition of the year, Javaras Thomas (Sr., Miami, Fla., Miami Beach HS) showed little rust in crushing all other athletes in the triple jump with a winning leap of 45-7.75. Fellow Statesmen Royce Clay (Sr., Miami, Fla., Booker T. Washington HS) was his best competition, taking second at 44-10.75.
The pair also scored in the long jump with Clay taking third (21-5.25) and Thomas in fourth (21-2.75).
Jonathan Pope (Sr., Starkville, Miss., Starkville HS) managed a spot high on the podium, earning runner-up honors in the high jump at 6-2.75.
Kipp Schuler (Sr., Haviland, Kan., Dana) was a multiple-event scorer in the distance events, taking second in the 5,000-meter run (16:12.22) and fifth in the 3,000 (9:31.90).
Penn added points in the 800-meter run with Dexter Jordan (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., Forest Park CC) (fourth, 2:02.50), while the relays were point-gatherers as well. The 4×400-meter relay was third in 3:30.97, the distance medley was fourth in 11:41.69, and the 4×800 was sixth in 9:35.35.
The Lady Statesmen were a bit slim Saturday with just five women competing. The team, led by Ashley Lyons (Fr., Wichita, Kan., Wichita Collegiate HS) and her sixth-place performance in the shot put (38-3.25), recorded three points to finish seventh out of seven teams.
For the third year in a row, Grand View claimed the women’s championship with 200 points, while St. Ambrose was second with 160.5 points. Mount Mercy (119.5) edged Ashford (115) for bronze and Clarke was fifth with 77 points. Iowa Wesleyan scored five points to take sixth.
Next: Individuals will have one final chance to qualify for the indoor national meet as Penn travels to Cedar Falls Friday to compete in the UNI-Dome Open hosted by Northern Iowa.
Conference Title Belongs to Lady Statesmen
Dubuque–The Penn women’s bowling team had to rally a bit, but the result still met the goal as the Lady Statesmen won the inaugural Midwest Collegiate Conference women’s bowling title at the Clarke Conference Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
In a three-section tourney, Penn sat in fourth (third among MCC teams) after the completion of the six regular games (5,118) on Saturday, but moved up to second (first among MCC teams) after the 16 Baker games on Sunday (2,845) for a grand total of 7,963 pins. Non-MCC member Midland (Neb.) won the first two rounds (out of eight teams) with 8,370 combined pins.
The Lady Statesmen entered the Roll-Off as the top seed and held its seed by defeating #4 Grand View in the semifinals 3-0 (221-161, 202-157, 168-150) and #2 St. Ambrose in the finals 3-1 (137-189, 192-155, 168-128, 145-130).
For guiding his program to the crown, Head Coach Mark Van Wyk was named MCC Coach of the Year.
Breanne Underwood (Sr., Treynor, Treynor HS) topped Penn in the regular games by placing second (out of 54 bowlers) with an average of 195.3 pins. Underwood had a high game of 254.
Samantha Powell (So., Herriman, Utah, Bingham HS) was just one notch lower in third with a 193.3 clip.
Kirstin Newberry (Fr., Holland, Mich., West Ottawa HS) was the next-highest finisher, averaging 152.7 sticks, also in six games.
Amanda Kilts (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids Jefferson HS) bowled in five games, posting a 172.4 mark, while Abigayle Wempen (So., Titonka, North Iowa HS) had a 144.8 tally in four matches.
Morgan Fest (Sr., Salt Lake City, Utah, Weber State), with a 149.5 mark in two games, and Amanda Edenholm (So., Marysville, Wash., Marysville-Pilchuck HS), with 130 pins in one game, also competed for Penn.
Next: Penn travels to Indianapolis, Ind. to compete in the Hoosier Classic next weekend.
Penn Men Win Inaugural MCC Title
Dubuque–The Statesmen bowling team made history Sunday as it claimed the first-ever Midwest Collegiate Conference men’s bowling title at the Clarke Conference Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
In a three-section tourney, Penn led after the completion of the six regular games (6,356) on Saturday and again after the 16 Baker games on Sunday (3,077), resulting in the team earning the #1 seed for the MCC Roll-Off with a tally of 9,433 pins.
The Statesmen dominated #4 seed Clarke 3-0 (205-165, 220-193, 253-217) in the semifinals of the Roll-Off and then also swept #3 Ashford 3-0 (188-177, 214-207, 226-160) to be declared conference champions.
For guiding his program to the crown, Head Coach Mark Van Wyk was named MCC Coach of the Year.
Cameron Foster (Fr., West Jordan, Utah, West Jordan HS) led all bowlers (78 total) in the regular games with a 224.2 average in six games (1,345 pins). The freshman highlighted his day with five games over 200, including a best of 246.
Drew Balta (Fr., Walford, Cedar Rapids Prairie HS) was fourth with a clip of 214.5, while Sean Rangel (So., Omaha, Neb., Bellevue East HS), at 213.5, and James Miller (Sr., Oswego, Ill., Vincennes), at 212.3, were right behind him in fifth and sixth, respectively.
Andrew Zaug (So., Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) rounded out the top team’s scoring with a 194.8 average to tie for 16th. Each of Penn’s five ‘A’ team players threw all six games.
The B team was also in competition, placing ninth overall (out 12 teams) with 8,303 pins.
Ethan Noble (Fr., Cedar Rapids, Cedar Rapids Washington HS) topped the squad with a 204.5 average, while Nathan Namanny (So., Denison, Denison HS) owned a 186.7 mark and Damon Watts (So., Davenport, Davenport Central HS) had a 181.8 clip. All three bowled the entire six games.
Kyle Hammann (So., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) averaged 180.8 pins in five games, while Eric Smith (So., Glenwood, Glenwood HS) knocked down 174.5 pins over four games. Mackenzie Van Zante (Fr., Pella, Pella HS) rounded out Penn’s scoring with a 152.0 tally in three games.
Next: Penn travels to Indianapolis, Ind. to compete in the Hoosier Classic next weekend.
Softball Opens Spring 1-2 at Belhaven Tourney
Ridgeland, Miss.–The Lady Statesmen softball team began its 2011 campaign with three difficult contests at the Belhaven Sweet 16 Tournament Saturday.
#30 Penn (1-2) fell to Lindenwood (Mo.) 7-6 in eight innings to begin the day. The Lady Statesmen then lost 5-3 to #12 Belhaven before rebounding to defeat SCAD-Savannah (Ga.) 3-1.
Although not in the top 25, SCAD (T-42nd, four votes) and Lindenwood (T-48th, one vote) join the Lady Statesmen as programs that are receiving votes.
Penn led late in all three contests, but could not hold off the Lions nor the Blazers, but in putting up such valiant fights, the team proved it will be among the nation’s best in 2011.
Penn jumped on top of the Lions immediately with a two-run first inning, highlighted by an RBI double by Brittany Labbe (So., Northridge, Calif., Chaminade HS) to score Molly Miller (So., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS). Labbe scored in the next at-bat on a single by Christine Gamble (Jr., Pahrump, Nev., Pahrump Valley HS).
Lindenwood answered with three runs in the third, but the Lady Statesmen recaptured the advantage with four more in the fifth. Miller provided the power this time around, bringing home Andrea Rensberger (Sr., Sioux City, Sioux City North HS) and Ashley Nieto (Jr., Cement City, Mich., Jackson CC) on a two-bagger. Labbe and Brianne Rowley (Jr., Hood River, Ore., Blue Mountain CC) crossed home plate as well.
Unfortunately, the 6-3 lead would not hold up as Lindenwood scored three in the sixth and forced extra innings, where it would score in the bottom of the eighth frame for the win.
Both teams tallied nine hits apiece with Miller (2-for-5) and Labbe (2-for-3) recording multiple base knocks.
Hannah Lugar (Jr., Kalona, Mid-Prairie HS) was saddled with the complete-game loss, allowing seven runs (six earned). She struck out eight with four walks.
Penn scored first against the host Blazers as well, putting up a three-spot in the fifth inning. Nieto posted the big hit, a two-run single, while Belhaven committed two errors in helping the Lady Statesmen to another run.
The bottom half of the frame was not as kind to Penn, however, with the home team scoring five runs on four hits and an error to claim the advantage. The Lady Statesmen failed to produce anything in the final two innings and came up short again.
Penn collected just three hits against Belhaven, including two by Rensberger (2-for-3). Jennifer Whitehead (Fr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) came up short in her collegiate debut, allowing five runs (all earned) on seven hits. The freshman (0-1) sat down two batters on strikes and walked a pair.
Refusing to be shut out in their first weekend of the year, the Lady Statesmen got on the same page both offensively and defensively with a nice victory over SCAD. The Bees upset Belhaven during the tournament.
Another quick first-inning run was put on the board as Cassie Lohman (So., Burbank, Calif., Providence HS) was hit by pitch with the bases loaded to bring Miller home.
The Bees responded in the bottom of the fifth with a run of their own, only to give up the two eventual game-winning runs to the Lady Statesmen in the sixth. Athena Rosario drew a leadoff walk and later scored, while Nieto came all the around as well.
Penn owned a 9-7 edge in hits, paced by the trio of Miller (2-for-3), Rensberger (2-for-4) and Khyia Lewis (Jr., Ottumwa, Ottumwa HS) (2-for-4).
Lugar had a strong outing to even her record at 1-1. The junior gave up one run (earned) on seven scattered hits. She posted six strikeouts and two walks.
“We really improved from the first game to the final game of the day,” Lady Statesmen Head Coach Mike Christner said. “We had some mental mistakes, but overall we played well and learned what we need to do to win those games. We led all of them late so we could have easily been 3-0 after the trip.”
Next: Penn is off two weeks before traveling to Tucson, Ariz. for its annual spring break trip. The team is slated to play 13 games over seven days.
