Simpson breaks two meet records at Kip Janvrin Open

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Casey Dunning (Marion, Iowa/Linn-Mar) set a meet record in the 10,000 meters and Kinsey Bak (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) did the same in the high jump as competition concluded at the 2010 Kip Janvrin Simpson College Open on Saturday afternoon at Buxton Stadium.

On a day when the weather looked anything but ideal, the rains held off for a majority of the meet as 38 teams from around the nation representing NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA and NJCAA took part in the event. Saturday marked the conclusion of the fifth Kip Janvrin Open, as the meet was renamed for the Olympic decathlete and Simpson alum in 2006.

Dunning kicked things off with a meet record in the first running event of the day, besting the field by more than four seconds in the 10,000 meters with a time of 33:36.02. In the final home meet of his career, the senior shattered the old record of 33:58.62, set in 2006.

Bak made the most of the season's lone opportunity to jump at the home facilities, turning in a career day in the high jump. The sophomore bested the field, broke the meet record, broke the school record that has stood since 1992 and automatically qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a leap of 5-7 1/4. Bak also placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles.

The men's team picked up two more first-place finishes on the day, both of which came in field events. Freshman John Cord (Atlantic, Iowa/Atlantic) took medalist honors in the long jump, posting a winning effort of 22-2 1/4. Sophomore Jake Darrington (Louisburg, Kan./Louisburg) out-did the field in the javelin throw, taking first-place with a throw of 179-3.

Cord added a seventh-place finish in the triple jump.

The men's 4x100-meter relay team of Cord, Jacob Christy (Vinton, Iowa/Vinton-Shellsburg), Jarrod Schott (Pocahontas, Iowa/Pocahontas) and Wardell Watkins (Olathe, Kan./Northwest) finished second (44.90).

Taking third in the 200-meter dash was Marty Rounds (Council Bluffs, Iowa/Jefferson), who finished the event in 22.80 after taking part in the Drake Relays earlier in the day.

On the women's side, senior Sarah Hammel (Dorchester, Iowa/Waukon) posted a second-place effort in the 800 meters (2:16.96). Hammel was pulled double-duty after running at Drake.

Senior Jess Christensen (Harlan, Iowa/Harlan) added a third-place effort in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, re-setting the school record she set earlier in the season by running an 11:15.90. Her time improved 25 seconds in only three weeks.

Kip Janvrin Open Notes: Including Simpson's record breakers, eight records were broken at the meet ... Women's 400 meters: Kristi Buerkle, Bemidji St. (55.22) ... Women's 1500: Dani Stack, Iowa State (4:39.05) ... Women's 4x400 relay: Truman State (4:02.65) ... Women's Hammer: Aubrey Baxter, Unattached (191-2) ... Men's 100: BJ Lawrence, Dana (10.82) ... Men's High Jump: Marquis Mack, Iowa Central CC (6-10 1/4).