The Statesmen track and field teams took advantage of a wee bit of Mother Nature Saturday as it hosted the Statesmen Relays.
With winds gusting at an even stronger rate than normal at Statesmen Community Stadium, William Penn utilized a southwest tailwind for some impressive numbers as three school records were broken.
WPU’s male sprinters dominated the sport’s fastest race, led by Nick Richardson-Jackson (Sr., Germantown, Md.) with a winning and new school-record time of 10.41 seconds in the 100-meter dash prelims. Jackson Coates (So., Aldie, Va., Engineering Technology) also bettered the old record with a time of 10.51 to take second. The previous mark of 10.57 had been held by Derek Newton since 1985.
Joel Brown (Jr., Columbus, Ga., Engineering Technology) also nearly broke the old mark, taking fourth in 10.60 seconds. All three qualified for nationals with their times and withdrew from the finals; Richardson-Jackson and Coates are both ‘A’ standard qualifiers, while Brown is a qualifier via the ‘B’ standard.
Jaylon Lenord (So., Houston, Texas) also qualified for the final, but chose to run again, taking fifth in a time of 11.03 seconds. He was 11th in the 200 as well in 22.67 seconds.
Regarding the 200, Jaelen Love (Jr., Crown Point, Ind., Secondary Education) was also a recipient of some breeze at his back as he placed second with a new school record of 21.24 seconds. The previous best time was 21.47 by Gabriel Green in 2011. Love’s time not only breaks the school record, but also hits the ‘A’ standard for national qualifying.
Torian Kingston (Jr., Queens, N.Y., Sports Management) claimed bronze in the 200 as well in 21.73 seconds.
Loubert Dagrin (So., Miami, Fla., Sociology) got in on the action too as he blitzed the 110-meter hurdles field, snapping his own program mark from just a few weeks ago with a time of 14.09 seconds (previous best was 14.40). Mofiyinfoluwa Alade (Sr., Hoffman Estates, Ill.) was fourth in the race as well in 15.41 seconds.
Coates not only nearly posted a school record in the 100, but was also the top long jumper Saturday, winning the crown at 24-6.5. Justin Moeller (So., Keota, Iowa, Psychology) was a bit behind him in third place at 23-6.75. Coates’ jump qualifies him for nationals with an ‘A’ standard, while Moeller will join the national-qualifying group with a ‘B’ standard mark.
Jasper Stottlemyer (Jr., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sociology) headlined the throwing group with three high finishes. The junior took second in the shot put (45-9.75) and sixth in both the hammer (141-6) and discus (134-4).
Ruben Perez-Rodriguez (Fr., San Antonio, Texas, Business Management) earned runner-up status in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 10:56.21.
Jesse Birlson (Jr., Fairfield, Iowa, Sports Management) finished seventh in the hammer at 130-1, while William De Jesus (So., Homestead, Fla., Biology) took 10th in the 1,500-meter run in 4:32.05.
Najai Alexander (Sr., Miami, Fla.), in the 400-meter dash (52.74), and Axel Arzate-Vazquez (So., Wray, Colo., Sports Management), in the 1,500 (4:36.91), both placed 13th as well.
Katherine Hunter (Jr., Bloomfield, Iowa) headlined the women’s team, finishing second in the 110 hurdles in 15.51 seconds.
Breana Roberts (So., Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, Biology) was fourth in the 100 (12.59) with Alexandra Rose (Fr., Quincy, Ill.) ending up right behind her in fifth (12.69).
Michaela Kmiec (So., Centerville, Texas, Exercise Science) placed ninth in the 800-meter run in a time of 2:43:42.
“We battled some tough conditions and came out on top,” Head Coach Allen Friesen said. “It is not often you break three school records in one meet, and the records we broke were pretty good ones at that. It was a great meet.”
Next Up: William Penn will battle against its league foes next Friday and Saturday as it travels to Des Moines to compete in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships.
