Storm place four in top five, win Buxton Invitational

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Trey Thompson and Jonathan Facio swept the top two spots and the Simpson men's cross country team rolled to a season-opening win at its own Bill Buxton Invitational on Friday at Pickard Park.

Thompson ran away from the field, finishing the 6k course in 19:29 to take the gold. Facio wasn't far behind, crossing in 19:41 to take second. A pair of sophomores in Seth Nostrala and Ryan Courtney added personal-best finishes as Nostrala took fourth in 20:22 and Courtney came in fifth in 20:24.

Simpson finished with 19 team points, easily topping the field of Southwestern CC (56), Graceland (71) and Iowa Wesleyan (109).

Luke Evans, Drew Roen and Cale Billheimer rounded out the Storm's top-seven finishers.

Up Next
Simpson goes to the Les Duke Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 8 in Grinnell.

Storm Varsity Finishers
1. Trey Thompson, 19:29
2. Jonathan Facio, 19:41
4. Seth Nostrala, 20:22
5. Ryan Courtney, 20:24
7. Luke Evans, 20:26
8. Drew Roen, 20:37
9. Cale Billheimer, 20:40