Statesmen Head to Missouri and Illinois with Split Squads

Maryville, Mo./Bourbonnais, Ill.--The William Penn track and field teams faced off against several new foes as they split their squads this weekend.

Part of the Statesmen competed in the Northwest Missouri State Open Friday and Saturday, while the rest battled in the Olivet Nazarene Invitational Saturday.  Earlier in the week, the throwers also participated in the Grand View Field Meet.

Northwest Missouri State Open Results

The Statesmen were paced by two top-10 finishes by Showalter Johnson (So., Nassau, Bahamas, New Media).  The sophomore took third in the 60-meter dash in 6.83 seconds.  He also finished seventh in the 200-meter dash in a time of 22.30 seconds.

Justin Moeller (Sr., Keota, Iowa, Psychology) was also a two-time top-10 placer, ending up third in the long jump (22-1) and ninth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.56).

The trio of Tafara Hondonga (Sr., Aberdeen, S.D., Business Management), Johnny Fisher (Fr., Laporte, Colo., New Media), and Tahj Ferguson (Sr., Hartford, Conn., Psychology) all ended up in the top half of the 200 field as well.  Hondonga led the grouping in 20th (22.80), while Fisher was 21st (22.81) and Ferguson was 26th (22.87).

Hondonga, in 14th (49.54), and Fisher, in 31st (51.54), claimed top-half placings in the 400-meter dash as well.

Raven Williams (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Master's of Organizational Leadership) was a two-time top-half finisher for the women.  The senior was 18th in the 400 in 59.67 seconds and 22nd in the 200 in 26.64 seconds.

Abigaille Batu-Tiako (Jr., Plattsburgh, N.Y., Business Management) also took 12th in the long jump at 16-7.25.

Olivet Nazarene Invitational Results

WPU netted its top performances in the mid-distance events.  Max Finley (Fr., Richville, N.Y., Secondary Education) posted the top finish in Illinois, collecting the bronze in the one-mile run in a time of 4:30.99.

Jonah Heckenberg (Jr., Stockport, Iowa, Business Management) was fourth in the 1,000-meter run in 2:36.34, while also taking 10th in the 800-meter run (2:01.53).

Brandon Williams (Fr., Fountain, Colo., Civil Engineering) placed just in front of his teammate Heckenberg in the 800 as he placed fifth in 1:58.99.

Jaden Loveless (So., Des Moines, Iowa, Industrial Technology) crossed the line in 16th in the 400 (53.53) as well.

Next Up: William Penn travels to Grinnell to compete in the Darren Young Classic next Saturday.