Storm men check in at tenth in new region rankings

INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson men's track and field team cracked the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings for the first in the outdoor track and field season, coming in 10th in the most recent edition.

The Storm rose one spot from 11th to 10th, collecting a total of 215.24 points. The Storm's total came from 36 individual performances in 13 separate events. A total of 18 athletes and two relay teams all earned points towards the Storm's total.

Spencer Moon accounted for 91.37 total points across the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 meter runs. Moon, the school record holder in all three events, is ranked either second or third in all three events. The next highest Storm earner was Carter Berkey with his 7.24 meter mark in the long jump. Berkey, the current indoor school record holder in the event and is second in the outdoor version, earned 29.28 points for the Storm, ranking third in the region.

Brendan Godbout contributed over 28 points to the Storm's total, mainly coming in the 400 meter hurdles, with his time of 54.34 in the event sixth in the region. Max Cleveland continued a strong showing for the Simpson hurdlers, as his season-best of 14.78 in the 100 meter hurdles ranks fifth in the region, giving the Storm another 23.91 points.

Two other Storm athletes contributed points in the double digits, with JR Knauss's career-best high jump of 1.90 meters garnered 10.27 points. Clarke Latcham put up a similar total across four events, with the majority coming in the decathlon, where he ranked 13th in the region.

The Storm travel to Loras for the Dr. Tucker Open on Friday, as the team begins its final preparations before the American Rivers Conference Championships.

USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings
1. Wartburg - 810.09
2. Loras - 781.92
3. Dubuque - 729.86
4. Washington (Mo.) - 627.05
5. Nebraska Wesleyan - 478.56
6. North Central (Ill.) - 459.02
7. Central - 402.51
8. Greenville - 309.07
9. Chicago - 265.95
10. Simpson - 215.24