William Penn Athletics News January 15
William Penn University Athletics
Burgey Claims Bracket at Central Open
Pella–Eric Burgey (Fr., Easton, Pa., Easton HS) and his #1 seed were never threatened all day en route to an individual championship at the Central Open Saturday.
Burgey, who wrestled for the first time in over a month on Wednesday, continued his strong season (now 16-1) with a 4-0 record at 149 pounds. The freshman entered the day as the top seed and held his position easily, winning his first match by fall in 1:06. He then had his closest match of the day, a 15-11 decision to reach the semifinals.
From there, Burgey claimed a 16-0 technical fall win and concluded the day by pounding #2 seed Caleb Brus of Simpson 14-3 (major decision) for the crown.
T’Oddre Owens (Fr., Burlington, Burlington HS) and Tyler Schneider (Fr., Belleville, Mich., Belleville HS) also had multiple-win days.
Owens, in his first collegiate tournament, finished 3-2 at 174 pounds (all decisions), while Schneider was 2-2 at 133 pounds with one fall. Owens finished one victory shy of qualifying for the national tournament.
Next: Penn travels to Estherville next Saturday to compete in the Iowa Lakes CC Open. Action begins at 9 a.m.
Penn Women Alone at Top After Beating Clarke 78-45
William Penn Women's Basketball took on Clarke January 15 in Oskaloosa
Oskaloosa–A tremendous second half powered the Lady Statesmen cagers to a 78-45 win over Clarke in Midwest Collegiate Conference action Saturday.
Penn (14-6, 6-1 MCC) has won five in a row and the streak was extended in no small part to a ridiculous 47-16 advantage after intermission. The home team only led 31-29 at the break, but blew the game open by shooting 60.6% and forcing the Crusaders (6-14, 2-5 MCC) into 21 turnovers, good for 21 points.
The Lady Statesmen, who outshot their foe 50.0%-34.1%, recorded 31 total takeaways (just 18 turnovers themselves), and owned a 29-11 edge in points off mistakes.
The win, coupled with Mount Mercy being idle in league play, moves Penn into sole possession of the conference lead, one-half game ahead of the Mustangs, St. Ambrose, and Iowa Wesleyan, all of whom are 5-1. There is a major separation between the top four and the rest of the MCC as the current fifth-place team is Grand View at 2-4.
Christa Subbert (Sr., Stanton, Stanton HS) started hot, then cooled off in the middle, but finished strong to lead all players with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting (4-of-8 3-PT).
The senior was joined in double figures by Orielle Thomas (Fr., Waynesville, Mo., Waynesville HS) with 18 points and Rachel Butler (Sr., Orange County, Calif., Cerritos CC) with ten points. Thomas also hauled in a game-best eight rebounds.
Samantha Darley (Sr., Gilbert, Ariz., Mesa CC) came up short of the mark with eight points, matching the effort by Kim Thompson (Fr., Park Forest, Ill., Upper Iowa), who was making her Penn debut Saturday.
Sarah Martin (So., Anthem, Ariz., Boulder Creek HS) dished out four assists and Thompson led all players with three steals.
Head Coach Brian Spielbauer truly emptied the bench in the win, playing 16 different players with 13 of those individuals recording at least one point or one rebound. Penn controlled the glass with a 37-28 margin in rebounding.
Next: Penn stays in Oskaloosa Tuesday to host AIB in its final non-conference game of the year at 7 p.m.
Green Qualifies Twice at UNI Open
Cedar Falls–Gabriel Green (So., Anniston, Ala., Anniston HS) eclipsed two qualifying times Saturday in pacing the Penn track and field teams at the Panther Open hosted by Northern Iowa.
Green met the NAIA’s ‘B’ standard in both the 60 and the 200-meter dashes. His time of 6.95 seconds gave him the bronze in the 60, while his finish of 22.27 seconds easily won the 200.
Green has now qualified for the NAIA Indoor National Championships to be held in Geneva, Ohio during the first week of March. He joins 3,000-meter race walker Katie Burnett (Sr., Mesa, Ariz., Arizona) as Penn’s first two qualifiers.
Their teammate Carlos Stepter (Sr., Highland Park, Mich., Highland Park HS) was also strong in the sprints, placing fourth in both events. He owned a time of 6.97 seconds in the 60 and 22.70 seconds in the 200.
Many other Statesmen athletes had strong showings at the Open, led by Royce Clay (Sr., Miami, Fla., Booker T. Washington HS) with his runner-up finish in the long jump at 22-2.5.
Jonathan Pope (Sr., Starkville, Ark., Starkville HS) was fifth in the high jump at 6-4.75, while Josh Roudabush (Sr., Brooklyn, BGM HS) placed sixth in the 600-meter run in a time of 1:29.05.
Nick Reynolds (Jr., Riverton, Utah, Iowa Western CC) had the seventh-best time in the 3,000-meter run in a time of 9:09.69, while Blake Washington (Fr., Knoxville, Knoxville HS) was eighth in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:06.45. Right behind him was Dexter Jordan in a time of 2:06.52.
Quintin Marshall (Fr., St. Louis, Mo., McCluer South Berkeley HS), in ninth in the one-mile run at 5:24.28, and Michael Fulton (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Eureka HS), in tenth in the weight throw at 35-0.5, also had strong showings.
Ashley Lyons (Fr., Wichita, Kan., Wichita Collegiate HS) topped the Lady Statesmen performances by taking fourth in the shot put at 37-4.5.
Nicole Rogge (Fr., Glendale, Ariz., Apollo HS) placed seventh in the one-mile run at 6:08 and Jessica Bixler (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) was eighth in the long jump at 15-1.25.
Next: Penn travels to Cedar Falls next Saturday to compete in the Northern Iowa Panther Open.
William Penn's Ryan Wilson drives for 2 versus Clarke on January 15
Late Rally Fails in 76-74 Loss to Clarke
Oskaloosa–The Penn men’s basketball team gave itself a chance Saturday to get off its current slide, but the final seconds dwindled away without the home team even getting a shot off in a 76-74 setback to Clarke in Midwest Collegiate Conference action.
The Statesmen (9-10, 1-5 MCC), now losers of six in a row, trailed by just two with five seconds remaining. Penn moved the ball down the court quickly, only to lose the ball out of bounds off the Crusaders with 0.7 seconds left. The inbounds pass was tipped around unfortunately and the home team was unable to attempt a tying, or possibly, a winning shot as time expired.
Clarke (10-10, 3-4 MCC) held the biggest lead of the game at seven late in the first half, but the second stanza actually saw Penn go ahead, by as much as three in fact at 64-61, with 9:06 remaining.
The visitors responded with nine unanswered, however, and never trailed again. The hosts narrowed the deficit to one on two late occasions, but could never get back on top.
Huzie Hambrite (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind., Ball State) paced all players with 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting. His squad again had troubles from the floor, being outshot 47.3%-39.5%. Hambrite also stole a game-high three passes.
Alan Douglas (Jr., Champaign, Ill., Lakeland CC) was next on the scoring list with 15 points in addition to 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the year.
Wiebe Goodyk (So., Oskaloosa, Iowa Central CC) and Ryan Wilson (Sr., Ballwin, Mo., Missouri-Kansas City) hit the double-digit plateau with ten points apiece.
Ross Howe (Fr., State Center, West Marshall HS) performed well off the bench with six points.
Penn dominated the boards, especially the offensive glass (22-8), with a 50-38 edge. It led to a 17-8 margin in second-chance points. The squad was also only forced into 13 turnovers (Clarke had 15).
Both teams struggled at the charity stripe, unfortunately Penn was a bit worse at 45.5% (10-of-22).
Next: Penn travels to Clinton next Saturday to face Ashford in MCC play at 3 p.m.
Wade Steinlage
