WPU Earns Two All-America Honors at Outdoor Nationals

Marion, Ind.--Xzavion West (Jr., Guthrie, Ky., Undecided) and D'Artagnon Beaver (Sr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services) both brought home hardware as the William Penn men's track and field team competed at the 73rd U.S. Marines NAIA Outdoor National Championship Wednesday through Friday.

West and Beaver both earned All-America honors as the Statesmen scored nine points and finished in a tie for 32nd.  British Columbia claimed the team crown with 74 points.

West topped the navy and gold by finishing third in the hammer throw on Wednesday at 201-6.  The junior also broke his own school record in the process.

Beaver joined him with All-America recognition by placing sixth in Saturday's 3,000-meter steeplechase final with a time of 9:09.22.  The senior qualified for the finals by posting the third-best time in the preliminary round.

The All-America honors are the first for both individuals, while William Penn now has 36 All-Americans in men's track and field history.

Showalter Johnson (Sr., Nassau, Bahamas, New Media) narrowly missed A-A accolades as he was 10th in Thursday's 100-meter dash in 10.52 seconds.  Johnson was just .04 seconds from qualifying for the finals.

On Wednesday, Andrew Miller (So., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) also competed in the steeplechase, taking 22nd place at 9:49.72, while West was 22nd as well in the shot put on Friday at 49-2.5.  Anthony Weaver (So., Demopolis, Ala., Mechanical Engineering) ended up 23rd in Friday's triple jump competition at 43-7.25.

Miller also joined up with Ethan Varvelo (Sr., Channelview, Texas, Engineering Technology), Gavin Huff (Fr., Mascoutah, Ill.), and Brandon Williams (Sr., Fountain, Colo., Engineering Technology) as the 4x800-meter relay squad was 28th in Wednesday's prelims at 8:02.64.

"It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone this weekend," Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said.  "We had some really high highs and some low lows, but overall we are proud of what our athletes put out there.  Both Xzavion and D'Artagnon have worked incredibly hard all season and stayed consistent in improvements.  Getting them on that podium was a sight to see."

"Unfortunately, the other side is having to now say goodbye to some seniors that were staples in our program," Vinokur added.  "Showalter, Brandon, D'Artagnon, and Ethan have really been at the forefront of our program, and they are going to be sorely missed.  Overall, though, it was nice to walk away from outdoor nationals with some hardware.  The future looks bright for William Penn track and field."