WPU Battles in Last Chance Meets

Rock Island, Ill. / Joliet Ill.--A handful of Statesmen track and field athletes got on the competitive surface one more time Friday in hopes of either qualifying or improving their national standing.

William Penn participated at the Augustana Penultimate Qualifier and the St. Francis Fighting Chance Invitational.

Augustana

Three individuals earned runner-up status, including Xzavion West (Sr., Guthrie, Ky., Psychology), who did so on two occasions.  The senior was second in both the hammer throw at 200-10 and the shot put at 53-8.5, while also taking ninth in the discus at 150-1.

Youssef Hamed (Jr., Al Wakrah, Qatar, Business Management) and Nicholas Knowles II (Fr., Nassau, Bahamas, Business Management) claimed silvers as well.  Hamed was second in the 100-meter dash in 10.69 seconds, while Knowles II accomplished the feat in the long jump at 22-10.

Myrhon Addison (Fr., Glennville, Ga., Sports Management) wrapped up the men's efforts in Rock Island by placing fifth in the shot put (49-4.25) and sixth in the discus (154-7).

The women's squad was also represented over the weekend.  Crystal Shaw (Fr., Austin, Texas, Applied Computer Science) finished third in the long jump with a distance of 17-11.5, while Phoebe Burt (Sr., Iowa City, Iowa, Sociology) was fifth in the shot put at 39-1.75.

St. Francis

Andrew Miller (Jr., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) and Gavin Huff (Jr., Mascoutah, Ill., Mechanical Engineering) each performed well in distance races.  Miller was fourth in the 1,500-meter run in a time of 4:00.94, while Huff was fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:31.43.

"We had some really nice performances and PRs on the men's side, but they were unfortunately not enough for some to hit a qualifying standard," Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said.  "Our ladies both tried to qualify in a second event, but fell just shy.  However, they are ready to tackle the one they did qualify in when they head to nationals next week."

Next Up: The Statesmen will have solid representation next Wednesday through Friday as they compete at the NAIA National Championship in Asheville, N.C.