Distance runners lead Storm on Saturday

GRINNELL, Iowa -- The Simpson men's track and field squad garnered seven top-five finishes at the Darren Young Indoor Invitational on Saturday.

The Storm had two second-place performances in long distance events. Jonathan Facio crossed in 8:53.26 in the 3,000 meters for second and Trey Thompson ran a time of 15:13.37 in the 5,000 meters for runner-up. Logan Egeland ended in ninth in the 5,000 for another top-10 outcome for Simpson.

The quartet of Craig Garrison, Troy Vittetoe, Terrhyn Jacoby and Kellen Fitch raced to first place in 4x200-meter relay with a time of 1:32.78.

Tyler Combs paced the team in the 800 meters and earned third with a time of 1:59.22. Steven Cruz-Castro finished in 11th in the event. In the mile, Josh Paulson and Ryan Courtney cruised to seventh and eighth, respectively.

In the 60-meter sprint, Simpson showcased three top-10 runners. Travis Tupper led the team with a fifth-place nod at 7.22 seconds. Garrison was just behind in sixth at 7.25 and Kirk Wicks rounded out the trio in ninth.

Fitch earned ninth in the 200 meters and Garrison just missed another top-10 performance and finished in 12th. Jordan Coughenour tallied ninth place in the 400 meters and teammate Emmitt Wheatley nabbe 10th in the race.

For the field events, Caleb Striegel had himself a stellar day with two top-10 marks. Striegel launched the shot put 14.40 meters for fifth and had a distance of 14.78 meters in the weight throw for seventh.

Carter Berkey jumped 6.08 meters in the long jump, which was good enough for eighth place.

The squad will compete in the Dubuque Invitational on Friday.

Meet Report
60 — 5. Travis Tupper, 7.22 | 6. Craig Garrison, 7.25 | 9. Kirk Wicks, 7.26
200 — 9. Kellen Fitch, 23.48 | 12. Craig Garrison, 23.53
400 — 9. Jordan Coughenour, 51.425 | 10. Emmitt Wheatley, 51.426
800 — 3. Tyler Combs, 1:59.22 | 11. Steven Cruz-Castro, 2:02.65
Mile — 7. Josh Paulson, 4:32.02 | 8. Ryan Courtney, 4:34.07
3000 — 2. Jonathan Facio, 8:53.26 | 28. Ryan Finer, 9:49.85
5000 — 2. Trey Thompson, 15:13.37 | 9. Logan Egeland, 15:48.82
60 hurdles — 10. Elliott Meyer, 9.08 | 18. Tyler Williams, 9.37
4x200 relay — 1. Craig Garrison, Troy Vittetoe, Terrhyn Jacoby, Kellen Fitch, 1:32.78
4x400 relay — 3. Travis Tupper, Emmitt Wheatley, Jordan Coughenour, Kirk Wicks, 3:24.27
High jump — 13. Ryan Trainer, 1.71m
Long jump — 8. Carter Berkey, 6.08m | 22. Brian Rew, 5.38m
Shot put — 5. Caleb Striegel, 14.40m | 18. Mason Spree, 11.26m
Weight throw — 7. Caleb Striegel, 14.78m | 16. Mason Spree, 12.96m