Storm place 20th at Central Region

WAVERLY, Iowa - Led by junior Jade Osborne, Simpson's 20th-place showing at the NCAA Division III Central Region Championship meet on Saturday marked the end of the 2011 season.

Osborne finished the 6-kilometer course in 24:05, running to 69th place. Sophomore Annie Hills was the Storm's second finisher, running 24:52, good for 105th.

"It was a tremendous day for our women," first-year head coach Heath Moenck said. "It is always great to end on a positive note, and our senior women finished with lifetime best races. They stepped up and raced well when it counted."

The Storm's senior trio of Signe Mayland, Courtney Licht, and Maddy McAreavy were Simpson's third, fourth, and fifth finishers, respectively. Mayland's 24:59 placed her 115th and Licht was right on her heels, running 25:04 (118th). McAreavy finished her senior campaign with a 146th-place showing, running 25:56.

"Today's placings were not at all indicative of efforts given or how hard we raced," Moenck said. "I'm proud of the women for finishing like they did."

Sophomore Lindsey Borgomainerio ran 26:09 (149th) as Simpson's sixth finisher and sophomore Shelby King rounded out the Simpson seven, running 27:11 (166th).

The Storm finished ahead of conference rival Coe, who beat Simpson at the Iowa Conference Championships. Wartburg won the team title with 63 points, followed by Carleton with 85. Linda Keller of Minnesota-Morris won the individual title, finishing in 21:44.6.