Simpson cross country begins season Sept. 3

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The Simpson College men's and women's cross country teams open their seasons Sept. 3 as head coach Heath Moenck announced the programs' 2021 schedule.

The Storm men capped off its 2020 campaign with a third-place finish at the American Rivers Conference Championships for the program's best result since 1990. The women collected sixth to climb two spots from 2018's performance at the league meet.

The Bill Buxton Invitational kicks off Simpson's fall after not hosting the event in 2020 due to COVID-19. The meet will take place at Pickard Park in Indianola. The Grinnell Invitational takes place Sept. 11 to cap off the month of September for the Storm.

Simpson travels out of state for its next two events with trips to Illinois and Wisconsin. The Brissman-Lundeen Invitational takes place on Oct. 1 in Rock Island, Illinois, hosted by Augustana. A visit to West Salem, Wisconsin is on the docket Oct. 15 in the Drews/Neubauer Invitational for the program's final tune-up before the A-R-C Championships.

The A-R-C Championships are set for Oct. 30 in Decorah, Iowa, hosted by Luther. After not competing in NCAA postseason action last fall, the Storm take part in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 13, a location is yet to be determined. New regions were developed this offseason with Simpson now competing against schools from Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri. The NCAA Division III Championships are set for Nov. 20 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Simpson moves to a typical schedule in 2021 after competing in all triangular meets, besides the conference championships, in 2020 due to COVID-19.