Ney threatens school record, Fleshner just misses cut

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Sarah Ney had a near-record perfornace in the 60-meter dash and Bayley Fleshner registered a career-best effort in the 60-meter hurdles to highlight Simpson's trip to the UW-Platteville Final Qualifying Meet on Friday, March 7.

Unfortunately for Fleshner, 8.97 seconds wasn't enough to qualify for the national meet, the second year in a row she narrowly missed the cut.

In 2013, she ran a then career-best 8.98 at the Iowa State Qualifier, only to miss the cut by .01 seconds. This time around, the final time taken for nationals was 8.95.

Fleshner sits at No. 2 on Simpson's all-time list in the 60 hurdles, behind former All-American Lauren Bucklin Nelson, who ran 8.74 in 2009.

Although not in direct contention to qualify for the Division III Indoor Championship, the meet provided a chance for Ney to move up in the record books. The junior did just that, running a career-best 7.98 in the 60, moving into a tie for second on Simpson's all-time list with Kerry Flinn (1999).

Ney's effort is the best by a Simpson sprinter since 2001 when Amy Wigen set the record (7.96). Ney also moved into No. 2 in school history in the 200 meters when she ran a 26.23 at the Iowa Conference Championships last week.