Ellingson places fourth in 1500, Coy eighth in 400 at nationals

CLAREMONT, Calif. – For the Simpson track and field team, the theme was quality, not quantity at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships this weekend at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College.

Catie Ellingson placed fourth in the 1500-meter run and Ben Coy placed eighth in the 400-meter run on Saturday, giving Simpson three All-Americans out of three qualifiers.

Kinsey Bak added a seventh-place finish in the high jump on Friday.

The women's team finished tied for 40th with seven points while Coy got the Storm on the board, tying for 73rd overall.

Ellingson, a senior from Indianola, Iowa, closed her career as a six-time All-American. She finished the 1500 in 4:27.87, just a fraction of a second behind third-place finisher Erica Jackey of Washington-St. Louis.

Ellingson bounced back in 2012 after a knee injury forced her to miss the entire 2011 outdoor season.

For Coy, a senior from Jewell, Iowa, Saturday's race was about payback. He ran a 48.33, edging out Josh Goerdt of Loras, who denied Coy an Iowa Conference Championship in the 400 just two weeks ago.

Coy becomes Simpson's first male All-American since 2005 and the first under seventh-year head coach Dave Cleveland.