Simpson men place eighth at IIAC Championships
PELLA – The Simpson men's track and field team placed eighth at the 2011 Iowa Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday.
Central won the meet with 212.16 points, followed by Wartburg (183), Luther (75), Loras (68.50), Cornell (67.33), Coe (44), Dubuque (35), Simpson (33) and Buena Vista (23).
Freshman sprinter Brad Vogel had the Storm's top finish of the day, taking second in the 55-meter dash. After posting the fourth-best qualifying time on Friday, Vogel jumped two spots after running a 6.58 in Saturday's final. He added an eighth-place finish in the 200 meters (23.47).
Matt Stone had a strong day in the middle-distance races, placing fourth in the Mile and eighth in the 800. He ran a 4:24.28 in the Mile and a 2:01.76 in the 800.
Simpson placed sixth in four events, including the 4x200 and 4x800-meter relays. The 4x200 team of Vogel, Brandon Christensen, Jarrod Schott and Leif Jepson ran a 1:36.01, while the foursome of Bryce Phillips, Pat Gerhardt, Logan Dorpinghaus and John Warnke ran an 8:38.94 in the 4x800. Ryan Edwardson took sixth in the 5,000 meters (15:44.00) and, in his first competition of the season, John Cord placed sixth in the triple jump (42-9 ½).
Schott added an ninth-place effort in the triple jump (41-0 ½), while Edwardson took 10th in the 3,000 meters (9:09.19) and Rory Hennessy did the same in the weight throw (45-2 ½).
Simpson athletes will have one more chance to qualify for nationals when the team travels to the Iowa State Last Chance Meet in Ames on Saturday, March 5.
