Storm rise one spot in latest national rankings

NEW ORLEANS - The Simpson College men's track and field team rose one spot to No. 20 in the latest edition of the USTFCCCA National Rankings.

The Storm are making their third straight appearance in the top 25, moving up one spot in each of the previous two weeks. The Storm also checked in at 10th in the Midwest Region, also the team's third straight appearance in those rankings.

Simpson earned 80.45 points in the national poll, represented by three athletes in five different events, as well as the 4x400 meter relay squad.

Senior Spencer Moon is nationally ranked in the 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000 meters, with most of the points being earned from the latter two events. Moon holds the school record and conference records in both the 5,000 (13:51.65) and 10,000 meters (29:18.21), ranking in the top five nationally. Moon contributed a total of 55.49 points across all three events.

Ulysses Patterson earned another 15.14 points for the Storm, coming into the week ranked ninth in the decathlon. Max Cleveland is ranked 16th in the 110 meter hurdles, with his time of 14.32 being just .02 seconds off the current school record.

Cleveland and Patterson both were on the 4x400 meter relay team that is ranked 19th in the country, joining teammates Joseph Sams and Brenden Godbout in running the sixth-fastest time in school history (3:14.86).

The Storm will begin competition at the American Rivers Conference Championships tomorrow, with Patterson being one of the athletes scheduled to compete in the decathlon.

To view the full rankings, please click here.