Edwardson wins 10K at conference championships

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Ryan Edwardson captured his second straight conference title in the 10,000-meter run to lead the Simpson men's track and field team on the final day of the 2012 Iowa Conference Championships on Saturday.

The Storm placed seventh of nine teams, scoring 45 points. Central won the meet with 241.

A senior from Spencer, Iowa, Edwardson finished in 31:30.56. The race was originally scheduled to be run on Friday night, but was postponed to early Saturday due to lightning. Edwardson also won the event in 2011.

After posting the fastest qualifying time on Friday, Ben Coy came in second in the 400 meters, finishing in 48.16. He led most of the race, but Loras' Josh Goerdt took the lead in the final 50 meters. Coy added a sixth-place effort in the 200 (22.25).

Entering the weekend with the conference's eighth-fastest time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Jake Sutton put forth a gutsy effort on Saturday. The junior placed second, finishing in 9:40.84 as the race came down to a sprint following the last barrier.

The Storm got a nice surprise from junior John Warnke in the 5,000 meters. After placing fourth last year, Edwardson sat out the event due to running the 10,000 earlier in the day. But Warnke came through, topping his previous personal best by more than 30 seconds to place seventh (15:35.91) in a highly competitive field.

Matt Stone added an eighth-place finish in the 800 (2:05.34).

The team of Stone, Brandon Christensen, Garrett Woodson and Leif Jeppson ran to a third-place finish in the 4x800-meter relay (8:01.24).