Gulf Shores, Ala.–Derek Seddon (Jr., Knoxville, Iowa, Physical Education) won his third All-America award by posting the best effort ever in his top event as William Penn fared well at the NAIA Track and Field Outdoor National Championships Thursday through Saturday.
Seddon launched the discus a school-record distance of 188-1.75 to place second. Jacob Armbrust of Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) unfortunately held him off with a mark of 194-1; both individuals had their best throws in the opening round.
For the junior, it is his second time placing in the discus, also doing so last spring (shot put All-American in the indoor season as well). He is the 14th All-American in William Penn men’s track and field history.
It also keeps the school’s streak of national championships with an All-American intact, stretching it to four in a row. WPU has now claimed nine All-American honors since the 2013 indoor campaign.
Seddon’s effort helped the Statesmen to a tie for 37th place with eight points, while Indiana Tech easily won the team crown with 86 points. Concordia (Neb.) slipped past Indiana Tech for the women’s title by five points, finishing with 71.
Armbrust is a senior, so Seddon will enter the 2017 outdoor campaign as the top returning discus thrower in the NAIA.
Seddon unfortunately did not have as much success in his other two events, placing a respectable 14th in the hammer at 168-1.5; he failed to post a distance in the shot put with three consecutive fouls.
Kalob Gist (Sr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Business Management) headlined WPU’s senior quartet as he finished 13th in the shot put with a personal best of 51-8.75.
CJ Watts (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education) was also strong in the 400-meter dash, ending up 13th in the preliminaries in 48.67 seconds. He just missed qualifying for the finals by .56 seconds.
Neiman Thompson (Sr., Rockville, Md., Physical Education) ran into some issues in his 400 prelim heat and finished 19th overall in 53.41 seconds.
Meaghan Foster (Sr., Centerville, Iowa, Physical Education) concluded her career with a nice effort in the shot put, placing 17th at 42-10.
Derek Robinson (So., Jenks, Okla., Communications), like Gist and Thompson, was making his nationals debut and finished 23rd in the discus at 147-0.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
