Broken records lead to SC ESPY for Worth, Kallem
INDIANOLA, Iowa – Wide receiver Reed Worth and distance runner Lara Kallem have been named the 2023-24 SC ESPY Male and Female Record-Breaking Performers of the Year.
Reed Worth, football
Worth broke two Simpson records during his final season with the Storm this fall. On Oct. 28, he hauled in his 31st and 32nd touchdowns to surpass Taylor Rodgers (2009-12) as the program's all-time receiving touchdowns leader. Two weeks later, he tallied 135 yards in his final career game to move past Dusty Kain (2002-05) on the career receiving yards leaderboard.
Worth finished his career with 205 receptions for 3,265 yards and 35 touchdowns. He recorded multiple touchdowns in 12 career games and surpassed 100 receiving yards 16 times. In his final two seasons, Worth totaled 1,157 and 1,160 receiving yards, two of the top four single-season totals for a Storm receiver. His 15 touchdowns in 2023 were the second-most in school history, while his 13 scores in 2022 are tied for fourth all-time.
Lara Kallem, women's track and field
Kallem broke four different distance records between her final indoor and outdoor track seasons at Simpson. Coming off her first national appearance in cross country, Kallem opened her indoor campaign by breaking a 1990 school record in the indoor 3000-meter run (10:09.91). She followed that performance with a dominating effort in the 5000 meters that beat the previous record set in 2006 by 30 seconds (17:21.24). She took even more time off that mark at the A-R-C Indoor Championships a few weeks later, clocking a time of 17:12.71. Her indoor season concluded with a 19th place finish in the 5000 meters at the NCAA Championships.
Kallem immediately impressed outdoors as well, breaking her own school record in the 5000 meters in her first outing. She ran a 16:57.88 in the race, becoming the first Storm runner to break the 17-minute barrier in the event. Just over a week later, Kallem smashed the 10,000-meter run previously set in 2006 by over two minutes. Her time of 35:10.24 earned a spot at the national meet, where she recorded another top 20 finish.
The Male and Female Record-Breaking Performer of the Year honors are the first of eight awards to be announced by the Simpson College Athletic Department this week. The 2023-24 Newcomers of the Year will be unveiled tomorrow.
