Newton’s Manning chooses William Penn track and field

Newton senior Kealey Manning was one of the Cardinals’ top throwers as soon as she started her high school track and field career in 2019.

And when she gets to William Penn University in the fall of 2022, Statesmen head track and field coach Allen Friesen expects similar results.

“We predict her to be in the top of the conference in the shot put right away,” Friesen said. “She will step in and be the two or three right away for us. I could see her being the No. 1, too. She needs to keep working her shot put. And I would like her to throw the discus, too.”

Throwing the discus is not something Manning has done too often at Newton. She had the team’s best throw in the event during her freshman season though.

Friesen said the plan is to have Manning compete in all four throws for the Statesmen.

Manning picked William Penn over Simpson College and she also had an academic scholarship opportunity at Drake University.

“I like the school, the environment and I know quite a few people I have worked with in track who have gone there and said many good things about it,” said Manning, about why she chose William Penn. “They also just gave me a better offer.”

At the high school level in Iowa, Manning can just throw shot put and discus. In college, she will have the opportunity to compete in the hammer throw and javelin, too. There’s also the weight throw during the indoor season.

“She has some ability,” Friesen said. “We’ll teach her how to throw the discus and hammer. I think she will bring a lot to the table.”

Her throws coach in college will be Keely Parish. At Newton, she was under the direction of assistant track and field coach Jeff Richardson.

Richardson thinks focusing on only track and field in college and not playing three sports anymore will help her improve in all areas of her throws. He still sees a lot of potential in Manning.

“I think they are getting someone who works really hard and is a perfectionist. She has a lot of upside,” Richardson said. “With any college sport, it’s all about getting stronger and turning yourself into a college athlete.”

Manning had Newton’s second best distance in the shot put during her freshman season at 35 feet, 1 inch. She led the team in discus with a top toss of 91-4.

She did not have her sophomore season because of COVID-19. But as a junior, Manning ranked first on the team with a throw of 36-6 1/2 in the shot put and her best discus throw was 74-5.

Friesen said Manning’s recruitment by William Penn started late. But the coaching staff was impressed with what they saw.

“It was the fall of 2021 when we started recruiting her,” Friesen said. “I happened to run across one of her meets and we were impressed with what we saw. We are in need of some female throwers, and I thought she’d be a good fit.”

Manning will focus on getting in shape and getting stronger before she gets to college.

She plans to major in psychology at William Penn and then transfer to Drake for law school.