West Wins Twice, Beaver and Paye Also Claim Victory at Cornell Hilltop Invite

Marshall, Mo.--Xzavion West (Jr., Guthrie, Ky., Undecided) swept the men's throwing events as the William Penn track and field teams battled at the Cornell Hilltop Invitational Saturday.

The Statesmen men were second with 114 points, while Grinnell won the team crown with 137 points.

West headlined WPU's performances by taking home both throwing event titles.  He won the weight throw at 54-11.5 and was also first in the shot put at 48-0.

D'Artagnon Beaver (Sr., Rockford, Ill., Human Services) and Tony Paye (Fr., Johnston, Iowa, Exercise Science) joined him in the winner's circle with Beaver crossing the line first in the one-mile run in 4:17.78, while Paye was tops in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.31 seconds (8.19 in the prelims).  Beaver's time broke his own school record in the event (4:19.74, 2024).

Paye narrowly missed his own multiple-win day, taking second in the 200-meter dash in 23.04 seconds.

Nick Marshall (Jr., Glenpool, Okla., Human Services) gave the navy and gold a 1-2 finish in the shot put as he won silver at 46-11.75.  He was third in the weight throw as well (53-5.75).

Primes Brock (Fr., Shreveport, La., Civil Engineering) was close behind in the shot put, ending up fourth with a toss of 43-11.75; the freshman also placed sixth in the weight throw (47-3.75).

William Penn won three of the top four spots in the mile as well with Brandon Williams (Sr., Fountain, Colo., Engineering Technology) finishing second (4:23.76) and Andrew Miller (So., Le Claire, Iowa, Exercise Science) taking fourth (4:23.88).

Brayden Ewoldt (Jr., Persia, Iowa, General Accounting) had the next-highest finish, earning bronze with a pole vault of 11-5.75.

The Statesmen 4x400-meter relay team was fourth in a time of 3:33.46, while Travaughn Robbins-Hall (Fr., Lauderhill, Fla., Software Engineering) was also fourth in the 60 (7.05).  Robbins-Hall added a sixth-place showing in the 200 (23.72) as well.

Jaden Loveless (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa, Industrial Technology) matched Robbins-Hall in sixth, doing so in the 400-meter dash in 54.63 seconds.

Christopher Smith (Sr., Chicago, Ill.) twice put himself in the top 10, taking eighth in the 60 in 7.28 (7.23 in the prelims) and placing ninth in the 200 (24.00).  Fellow sprinters Emanuel Johnson (Sr., Brooklyn, N.Y., Industrial Technology) (12th, 7.24) and Rayan Antonia (So., Willensted, Curacao, Business Management) (13th, 7.27) were also in the top half of the 60-meter dash competition.

Rylee Scott (Jr., Maxwell, Iowa, Exercise Science) was 10th in the shot put (39-8), while WPU had several more distance runners finish in the top half.

Ruben Perez-Rodriguez (Sr., San Antonio, Texas, Wellness and Recreation) was 11th in the mile (4:39.31), while Ethan Varvelo (Sr., Channelview, Texas, Engineering Technology) (12th, 4:39.57) and Gavin Huff (Fr., Mascoutah, Ill.) (13th, 4:40.86) were right on his heels.

Carson Springer (So., Grimes, Iowa, Business Management) came in 16th in the 3,000-meter run (9:32.29) as well.

Lilly Ostert (So., Madrid, Iowa, Exercise Science) and De'Avae Adderley (Jr., Nassau, Bahamas, Engineering Technology) led the women's crew as both finished second--Ostert in the 60 (8.08) and Adderley in the 400 (1:04.71).

Allison Read (Sr., Austin, Texas, Exercise Science) also finished in the top half in the 60 (12th, 8.62).

The Statesmen women were seventh overall with 21 points, while Grinnell finished the trophy sweep with 129 points.

"We saw some really positive movement today," Head Coach Victoria Vinokur said.  "We had some gutsy performances and saw some individuals start to understand technical adjustments that are being made and need to be made.  They are growing and building off every meet, which is a great trajectory to be on as we move forward into these last couple weeks before conference."

Next Up: William Penn travels to Grinnell next Saturday to compete in the Grinnell Invitational.