Timms paces women's cross country at Brissman/Lundeen Invite

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – Freshman Sadie Timms paced the Simpson women's cross country to a 19th-place finish of 35 teams at the Brissman/Lundeen Invitational on Friday night.

Timms completed the 6-kilometer layout at Saukie Golf Course in 23:22.5 to place 40th in a field of nearly 500 runners. The first 6k of her career, Timms was the fourth finisher among Division III freshman runners.

"Sadie ran a terrific race in a loaded field," head coach Heath Moenck said. 

One of the biggest cross country races in the country, the field included teams from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and the NJCAA. 

The University of Chicago won the meet with 115 points, followed by Olivet Nazarene (146) and Bradley (166). Simpson scored 573 points, ahead of fellow Iowa Conference school Dubuque (20th, 599).

"We competed hard as a team, and it's fun to watch our growth from meet to meet," Moenck said.

Another freshman, Courtney Neuendorf, came in 129th (24:49.7). Briana McCloskey (135th, 24:55.1), Breanna Gaster (148th, 25:03.3), Jessica Gronke (244th, 26:23.4), Lauren Doocy (279th, 26:56.2) and Maria Claussen (287th, 26:59.4) rounded out Simpson's varsity finishers.

Simpson returns to action next Saturday at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Ark.