Storm win three titles on last day of IIAC Championships
DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Simpson men's track and field team captured three more titles, including one in the last race of the day, en route to a fifth-place finish at the 2017 Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
With a conference title in the 4x200-meter relay already in the books from Friday, the Storm added wins in the 55 meters, 55-meter hurdles and the 4x400 relay on Saturday. Simpson's four conference championships at the indoor meet are the most in school history.
Simpson finished with 93 points, just 10 out of a second-consecutive top-three finish. Dubuque won the title with 125, followed by Central (107), Nebraska Wesleyan (102) and Wartburg (98). Simpson beat Loras by a point, while Coe (69), Buena Vista (37) and Luther (17) rounded out the field.
The Storm's most exciting win was the last one. Taking the handoff in third place, anchor leg Kirk Wicks passed Wartburg and Nebraska Wesleyan on the last lap, pumping his fist as he crossed the finish line. His teammates, Chase Wetterling, Travis Tupper and Matt Pearson, were there to receive him as he finished in a new conference championship record time of 3:21.51.
The 4x400 title is the first for the Storm in the history of the indoor meet.
Emmitt Wheatley captured the championship in the 55 meters, crossing in 6.49 seconds for his second title of the weekend. He won fairly easily, edging Nebraska Wesleyan's Craig Timmons and his teammate Tupper, who earned all-conference honors in third. Dylan Kalinay took fourth.
Kalinay provided Simpson's other title on the day, winning the 55 hurdles in 7.71 seconds. A junior, Kalinay has been one of the top hurdlers in the conference throughout his career, but had yet to break through with a conference title. His teammate, freshman Sam Adeniyi, came in third for all-conference honors and Isaac Frazier finished in fourth.
Frazier completed a runner-up finish in the Heptathlon, missing out on a repeat title by just 57 points. He finished with 4,696 points, the 18th-best score in Division III. He held a slim lead after the first event Saturday -- the 55 hurdles -- but Central's Will Daniels regained the lead in the pole vault and 1,000 meters.
Simpson had a solid showing in the 200 meters, with Wheatley capturing his third all-IIAC effort in third place. Tupper came in sixth and Kalinay got eighth.
Wicks just missed scoring in the open 400, running 51.09 to place ninth.
TOP FINISHERS
55 meters
1. Emmitt Wheatley, 6.49
3. Travis Tupper, 6.57
4. Dylan Kalinay, 6.58
200 meters
3. Emmitt Wheatley, 22.59
6. Travis Tupper, 22.65
8. Dylan Kalinay, 22.90
400 meters
9. Kirk Wicks, 51.09
12. Chase Wetterling, 51.67
1 Mile
14. Ian McKenzie, 4:32.51
3,000 meters
14. Trey Thompson, 9:07.48
20. Logan Egeland, 9:31.35
55 hurdles
1. Dylan Kalinay, 7.71
3. Sam Adeniyi, 7.93
4. Isaac Frazier, 7.98
4x400 relay
1. Wetterling, Tupper, Pearson, Wicks, 3:21.51 | IIAC Championship Record
4x800 relay
6. Hovey, Coughenour, Lefebure, McKenzie, 8:09.83 | #7 at Simpson
High jump
9. Isaac Frazier, 6-1 1/2
10. Sam Adeniyi, 6-1 1/2
Triple jump
10. Isaac Frazier, 41-1/2
11. Austin Greenwalt, 40-9
Weight throw
19. Braden Meints, 44-11
Heptathlon
2. Isaac Frazier, 4,696