Johnson Qualifies in First Meet, Men First and Women Second

Davenport--Showalter Johnson (So., Nassau, Bahamas, Business Management) is already making arrangements for nationals after leading the William Penn track and field teams to strong debuts at the indoor season-opening St. Ambrose Frigid Bee Invitational Saturday.

The Statesmen men won the team crown out of nine competing programs with 150 points. Host St. Ambrose was a distant second with 120.5 points.

The WPU women were in the mix as well, placing second out of the nine teams with 99 points; SAU won the trophy with 109 points.

Johnson punched his ticket for the NAIA National Championship in March by winning the 60-meter dash in an automatic-standard time of 6.83 seconds. He tied his own school record with the time. The mark was .21 seconds faster than the event runner-up.

The sophomore was not the only Statesmen champion in the season opener. Max Finley (Fr., Richville, N.Y., Secondary Education) took the one-mile title in 4:31.15, while Brandon Williams (Fr., Fountain, Colo., Civil Engineering) was first in the 3,000-meter run in 9:29.93.

Justin Moeller (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Psychology) topped the long jump field as well with a mark of 22-0.75.

Finley also took home a runner-up placing in the 3,000 in 9:36.46, while Jonah Heckenberg (Jr., Stockport, Iowa, Business Management) was right behind Finley in the one mile at 4:36.02, narrowly clipping Williams (4:36.06) for the silver.

Another fellow runner-up included Johnny Fisher (Fr., Laporte, Colo.) in his collegiate debut; he was second in the 200-meter dash in 23.03 seconds. Jaden Loveless (So., Des Moines, Iowa) also just missed a title, ending up with silver in the 600-meter run in 1:30.81. The William Penn 4x400-meter relay squad was also second in 3:28.42.

Loveless also managed a seventh-place showing in the 300 (37.49).

Ethan Varvelo (So., Channelview, Texas, Engineering) claimed a pair of top-four finishes, taking third in the 3,000 (9:53.56) and fourth in the one mile (4:48.98). Tahj Ferguson (Sr., Hartford, Conn.) and Jasper Stottlemyer (Sr., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sociology) also accomplished the multi-placer feat as Ferguson was third in the 60 (7.09) and fifth in the long jump (20-7.25), while Stottlemyer was fifth in the weight throw (50-9.25) and seventh in the shot put (47-6.5).

Fourth-place finishes came from Asarel Paez-Teran (So., Aberdeen, Wash., Exercise Science) in the 600 (1:34.37), Jeremiah Conteh (Jr., Shorewood, Wis., English) in the weight throw (51-3.75), and newcomer Tafara Hondonga (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D.) in the 200 (23.20).

Nick Richardson-Jackson (Sr., Germantown, Md.), in ninth in the 60 (7.23), and Landon Hansen (Sr., Newton, Iowa), in 10th in the shot put (47-1.5), also produced for the Statesmen.

Elizabeth Hele (Sr., Victorville, Calif., Biology) headlined the William Penn women with a pair of golds, winning the mile competition in 6:03.85 and the 3,000 in 12:21.06.

Michaela Kmiec (Sr., Centerville, Texas., Exercise Science) was on Hele's heels, taking second in both races (6:15.12 in the mile and 12:24.81 in the 3,000).

Abigaille Batu-Tiako (Jr., Plattsburgh, N.Y.) snatched silver in the long jump at 16-7, while also placing seventh in the 60 (8.39).

Alexandra Rose (Jr., Quincy, Ill.) and Tabitha Rogers (So., Venice, Calif.) were both two-time placers in the sprints. Rose was third in the 60 (8.11) and seventh in the 200 (27.99), while Rogers earned fifth in the 200 (27.79) and sixth in the 60 (8.33).

Fellow sprinters DeAvae Adderley (So., Nassau, Bahamas) (4th, 200, 27.33) and Allison Read (Fr., Austin, Texas) (9th, 60, 8.33) were in the top 10 as well.

"This was a really good opening day for us," Head Coach Allen Friesen said. "We had a lot of personal bests. I am really proud of everyone's effort, especially those of our freshmen."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Pella next Friday to compete in the Central Invitational.