Men’s cross country beats regionally-ranked foes at Wartburg

WAVERLY, Iowa -- Trey Thompson and Jonathan Facio turned in top-15 finishes and the Simpson men's cross country team ran to a fifth-place finish at Wartburg's Dan Huston Invitational on Saturday.

The Storm finished with 135 points, beating Gustavus Adolphus and Grinnell in the process. Gustavus Adolphus was ranked No. 7 in the most recent USTFCCCA Central Region Rankings while Grinnell was ranked No. 10.

Thompson finished 10th in the field of 285 runners, navigating the 8k course in 25:50.7. Facio came in 12th in 25:51.8.

The duo of Cale Billheimer and Ryan Courtney came up big for the Storm, placing 34th and 37th, respectively. Billheimer ran 26:46.6 and Courtney finished in 26:47.6. Tyler Combs, Logan Egeland and Drew Roen rounded out the Storm's varsity finishers.

Quotes from Coach Moenck

"Our men ran much better today after a very disappointing meet in Grinnell. We have high expectations for this group, and they took a step forward today. Once again Trey and Jonathan ran well, but the highlight was Cale and Ryan's performances. Both had huge breakthroughs."

Storm Varsity Finishers

Trey Thompson — 10th, 25:50.7
Jonathan Facio — 12th, 25:51.8
Cale Billheimer — 34th, 26:46.6
Ryan Courtney — 37th, 26:57.6
Tyler Combs — 42nd, 27:01.4
Logan Egeland — 47th, 27:09.0
Drew Roen — 53rd, 27:19.3

Up Next

Simpson goes to the Drew/Neubauer Invitational in Ettrick, Wis. on Saturday, Oct. 13.