Posted: Mar 01, 2014

Vogel wins 55, men finish 7th at IIAC Championships

DECROAH, Iowa – Brad Vogel won the 55-meter dash to lead the Simpson men's track and field team on the final day of the 2014 Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Vogel added a fourth-place effort in the 200 meters as the Storm placed seventh of eight teams with 31 points. Wartburg won the championship with 188 points.

The 55-meter title was a long time coming for the senior from Donnellson, Iowa, who also starred on the football team during his successful career at Simpson. As a freshman in 2011, Vogel placed second at the indoor championships. He did the same as a sophomore in 2012. Poised to break through as a junior, he suffered a hamstring injury in the finals that put his track career in jeopardy.

Saturday's effort erased those painful memories.

Vogel posted the No. 2 qualifying time in the 55 with a 6.54 on Friday night. He found an extra gear on Saturday, breaking the tape in 6.52 seconds to pull away from Wartburg's Jonas Elusme (6.62) for the first 55-meter dash title in head coach Dave Cleveland's nine seasons at the helm.

Vogel broke the tape in 22.95 in the 200, just .04 seconds behind Dubuque's Rick Valcin (22.91).

Leif Jeppson scored points for the Storm in the 800 meters, placing eighth (1:58.03).

In relay competition, Simpson placed sixth in both the 4x400 and 4x800-meter relays.

The 4x400 quartet of Brice Sheeder, Jeppson, Triston Twedt and Jared Grove ran a 3:30.17 while the 4x800 team of Miles Kirts, Anthony Burton, Cody Alexander and Mitch Green crossed the finish line in 8:08.19.

Simpson's last chance to qualify for nationals will be on Friday, March 7 at the North Central NCAA Qualifier in Naperville, Ill.

Team Results