Simpson athletes make final push for nationals

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Just a few days remain to qualify for the Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and seven Simpson athletes will try to punch their ticket at last-chance meets this week.

Multi-event athlete John Cord is competing in the decathlon at the North Central College Gregory Final Qualifier in Naperville, Ill on May 14-15. The competition ends Wednesday as Cord tries to improve upon the 6,151 points he scored at the Kansas Relays, currently putting him at No. 22 in Division III.

Joe Farrand will try to top his season-best time of 3:56.28 in the 1500-meter run at the UW-La Crosse Qualifier on Thursday, May 16. He is currently outside of the top 50 in the event.

Jake Sutton will join Farrand at the UW-La Cross Qualifier, competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. His top time of 9:43.29 is also unranked.

The women's 4x100-meter relay team of Lauren Martin, Bayley Fleshner, Sarah Ney and Jordan Maher hopes to continue its ascent up the national rankings at the UW-La Crosse Qualifier. The quartet has seen vast improvement over the past few weeks and is currently ranked 39th with a season-best time of 48.61.

Maher has two chances to complete. In addition to running the 4x100 at La Crosse, she looks to better her 28th-ranked effort in the discus (137-10). Her second chance in the discus comes Friday, May 17 at the Augustana Twilight in Rock Island, Ill.

Fleshner has two chances as well, adding the 100-meter hurdles to her schedule at both La Crosse and Rock Island. Her top effort this season (14.80) ranks 29th in the nation.