Graceland Supports Yellowjacket Student-Athletes Competing at the National Level

Four Graceland University Wrestling and three Track and Field student-athletes have qualified for nationals and will compete later this week.

The 2019 NAIA Wrestling Championships will take place March 1-2 at the Jacobson Exhibition Center on the Iowa State Fair Grounds in Des Moines. Sessions run at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday; wrestlers advance to Saturday based on their Friday performance. The following student-athletes will be competing:

• Brennan Swafford, 165 lbs.
• Drew Sams, 165 lbs.
• Trey Heckadon, 149 lbs.
• Shawn Taylor-Beeson, 285 lbs.

The 2019 NAIA Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field National Championships will take place Feb. 28-March 2 at the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex at Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota. The following student-athletes will be competing:

• Payton Young, long jump
• Lexus Lovan, 60 meter & long jump
• Kristol Vanterpool, triple jump

The Graceland community is coming together once again to celebrate the success of our student-athletes competing at the national level. Lamoni-campus students can sign up to attend the wrestling championships, and the university will provide them with tickets for Friday’s sessions as well as tickets and a 55-passenger charter bus to Saturday sessions, provided there are Yellowjackets competing. Graceland Student Government has signup sheets available, and Saturday transportation will be available on a first-come first-served basis. Anyone else interested in attending the championships can purchase tickets here.

In addition, Track and Field Head Coach Sheena James will highlight the student-athletes heading to South Dakota Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. outside Hampton Center. Those who would like to wish them well can gather for a few words recognizing their success and then send them off.

Graceland is proud of the success of these student-athletes as Yellowjackets continue to earn the opportunity to compete at the national level. Their hard work and dedication bring pride to all members of the Graceland family and gives us all the chance to show our support.