Young men's cross country team performs well on big stage

WEST SALEM, Wis. – Paced by Nick Yaeger for the third meet in a row, the Simpson men's cross country team placed 21st of 30 teams at the Jim Drews/Tori Neubauer Invitational on Saturday.

Yaeger placed 70th overall, completing the 8,000-meter course in 26:31.3.

Third-year head coach Heath Moenck was happy with the way his team performed at what is highly regarded as one of the premier Division III meets in the nation.

"This was our first big meet of the season and I was impressed with how our young squad handled it," Moenck said.

Four of the Storm's top five finishers were freshmen or sophomores, led by the sophomore, Yaeger.

Freshman Ethan Pellegrino turned in a 118th-place finish (27:11.6) and sophomore Miles Kirts took 165th (27:45.0). Freshman Blake Willadsen was 204th (28:08.6), senior Bryce Phillips 224th (28:17.0), sophomore Kellan Kremer 227th (28:17.5) and Andrew Mayes rounded out the top seven in 261st (28:36.7).

Saturday's meet was the final contest before the Iowa Conference Championships, which will be held Nov. 2 in Pella, Iowa.