Johnson Qualifies, Griffen Breaks School Record at Indoor Season Opener

Maryville, Mo.--A small crew represented the William Penn track and field teams well as the Statesmen opened the indoor season Saturday at the Northwest Missouri State Mel Tjeerdsma Classic.

Showalter Johnson (Jr., Nassau, Bahamas, New Media) and Keaten Griffen (So., Longview, Texas, Industrial Technology) headlined the navy and gold efforts as Johnson qualified for nationals, while Griffen broke his own school record.

Johnson placed second in the 60-meter dash with a provisional-qualifying time of 6.86 seconds.  Griffen set a new program mark in the pole vault with a winning height of 14-9, crushing his old record of 14-4.5 from last year.

Micah Mills (Fr., Houston, Texas, Psychology) narrowly missed his own title, placing second in the triple jump at 45-7.25.  The freshman was also fifth in the long jump at 20-8.5.

Tahj Ferguson (Sr., Hartford, Conn., Psychology) finished just ahead of Mills in the long jump, taking third at 21-1.25, while also ending up 15th in the 60 in 7.10 seconds.

Fellow sprinter John Webb (Fr., Dothan, Ala., Mechanical Engineering) had a pair of strong showings, placing fifth in the 400-meter dash in 51.18 seconds and 12th in the 200-meter dash in 22.93 seconds.

The throwing trio of Xzavion West (So., Guthrie, Ky., Undecided), Steven Murray (Sr., Missouri Valley, Iowa, Sociology), and Jeremiah Conteh (Sr., Shorewood, Wis., English) also performed well for the Statesmen.

West was fourth in the weight throw (51-4.5) and ninth in the shot put (43-9), while Murray was eighth in the shot put (43-9.25) and 13th in the weight throw (42-9.5).  Conteh posted a top-five effort as well, finishing fifth in the weight throw at 50-0.75.

On the women's side, Lilly Ostert (Fr., Madrid, Iowa, Exercise Science) led the way by taking 11th in the 60 at 7.88 seconds.  Alexandra Rose (Sr., Quincy, Ill., Exercise Science) was also in the top half of the 60-meter dash field in 23rd in a time of 8.20 seconds.

"Although we only sent a small crew, they left their mark," Head Coach Victoria Vikokur said.  "We had numerous top-10 finishes, an event winner, a broken school record, and a national qualifier.   The best part is that the first thing Showalter Johnson and Keaten Griffen said was they were not satisfied.  Our athletes are hungry for more.  Lily Ostert ran the fastest 60-meter opener in women's history and is just unlocking her potential.  It is going to be fun watching this team this year."

Next Up: William Penn will travel to Davenport next Friday and Saturday to compete in the St. Ambrose Finals Week Invitational.