Pellegrino leads men’s cross country to sixth at IIAC Championship

STORM LAKE, Iowa — Ethan Pellegrino paced the men's cross country team to a sixth place finish at the Iowa Conference Championships at Sunrise Golf Course on Saturday.

Simpson finished sixth out of nine conference teams, with a score of 172. The Storm placed behind Luther's 92. Loras won the conference title with 67 points.

"While placing sixth isn't a desirable finish, the top-five teams in our conference are not only some of the best in the region, but some of the best in the country," head coach Heath Moenck said. "We knew it was going to be a tall order to break into the top-five, but our men gave everything they had."

Pellegrino finished 28th overall in 26:31.0, breaking through to lead the team for the first time in 2016. Trey Thompson and Blake Willadsen added top-40 efforts as Thompson took 32nd in 26:39.0 and Willadsen placed 35th in 26:41.3.

Ian McKenzie, Levi Lefebure, Luke Evans, and Logan Egeland rounded out Simpson's varsity finishers.

UP NEXT
Simpson gets a week off before going to the NCAA Central Region Championship on Saturday, Nov. 12 in Northfield, Minn.

STORM FINISHERS
28. Ethan Pellegrino—26:31.0
32. Trey Thompson—26:39.0
35. Blake Willadsen—26:41.3
47. Ian McKenzie—27:06.2
55. Levi Lefebure—27:22.9
60. Luke Evans—27:27.9
66. Logan Egeland—27:31.5
72. Kyle Hovey—27:36.0
82. Chad Carter—27:50.9
88. Jonathan Facio—28:01.5
115. Drew Roen—28:44.3
149. Josh Paulson—29:53.4