Simpson competes at Cornell Hilltop Invitational

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – The Simpson track and field teams competed at the Cornell Hilltop Invitational Saturday, with the men taking two first-place finishes and the women turning in five. No team scores were kept.

The Simpson women dominated the distance and mid-distance events, boasting the winner of the 800-meter run, the mile and the 3,000 meters. Simpson also took the honors in the 55-meter hurdles and the 4x400-meter relay.

Catie Ellingson (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) was the victor in the 800-meters, winning the event by more than six seconds (2:17.39). Sarah Hammel (Dorchester, Iowa/Waukon) ran away from the field in the mile (5:17.34), leaving the closest competitor 11 seconds behind. Jess Christensen (Harlan, Iowa/Harlan) completed the sweep of the distance events with a win in the 3,000 meters, finishing more than 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher (10:26.77).

For the second week in a row, hurdler Lauren Bucklin (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 55-meter hurdles. Bucklin ran an 8.48 in her preliminary heat before winning the event in 8.57 seconds. She added a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash.

Bucklin joined Hammel, Ellingson and Molly Sabers (Iowa City, Iowa/City) on the winning 4x400-meter relay team. The group ran a season-best time of 4:03.43, beating Iowa Conference-rival Central at the finish line by .03 seconds.

In the field events, Kinsey Bak (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) placed second in the long jump with a leap of 16-1 3/4 and came in third in the high jump (5-1 1/4). Sabers and Kellie Whitney (Oshkosh, Wis./North) took third and fourth place in the triple jump, respectively, with Sabers traveling 33-10 and Whitney going 32-3.

The men's team came away with two top finishes on the day. Kyle Yarkosky (Albia, Iowa/Albia) won the 400-meters (51.56) and Marty Rounds (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Jefferson) bested the field in the 55-meter hurdles (7.88). Rounds added a second-place finish in the 200-meters (23.20) and was a part of the second-place 4x400-meter relay team.

Joining Rounds on the relay were Yarkosky, LeGrand Bien-Aime (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Stranahan) and Brandon Christensen (Clive, Iowa/West Des Moines Valley). With a time of 3:28.16, Simpson finished just behind Central (3:27.97).

In the field events, John Wardenburg (Williamsburg, Iowa/Williamsburg) and Scott Danielson (Dayton, Iowa/SE Webster-Grand) took second and fourth place, respectively in the shot put. Wardenburg heaved a season-best 49-11 3/4 and Danielson went 48-5 1/2, also a season-best.

Next week the Simpson track teams travel to Monmouth, Ill. for the Monmouth Classic Saturday, Feb. 13.