Simpson women jump to No. 11 in NCAA
INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Simpson women's track and field team jumped 12 spots to No. 11 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top 25 poll, as announced Wednesday.
The Storm tallied 69.65 points, just behind Ithaca (74.22) and ahead of George Fox (68.42). Calvin jumped to the front of the pack as the top team in the nation, unseating Illinois Wesleyan which is now ranked No. 4.
Simpson's regional ranking remained steady, as the Storm are No. 3 in the Central region. Wartburg is first, followed by Central. Simpson leads Gustavus Adolphis and Nebraska Wesleyan.
Simpson's move up the national rankings were a result of two events reaching provisional qualifying marks and another automatically qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships.
Kinsey Bak (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) set a school record and attained automatic qualifying status by clearing 5-7 1/4 on the high jump, tied for the second-best performance in the nation this year. Catie Ellingson (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) provisionally qualified in the 800 meters, turning in a 2:12.91 at the Drake Relays, the seventh-fastest time in the nation. The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Sarah Hammel (Dorchester, Iowa/Waukon), Lauren Bucklin (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar), Lauren Anderson (Oakland, Iowa/Riverside) and Molly Sabers (Iowa City, Iowa/City) provisionally qualified, running a 3:56.42 at Drake.
Simpson will not compete as a team this weekend, making its next meet the Central Open in Pella on May 7. Central will be the final tune up before the Iowa Conference Championships, held at Buena Vista in Storm Lake on May 14-15.
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Central Region Rankings - Outdoor Week 4
| Rank | School | Total Points |
| 1 | Wartburg | 439.39 |
| 2 | Central | 308.29 |
| 3 | Simpson | 297.73 |
| 4 | Gustavus Adolphus | 294.62 |
| 5 | Nebraska Wesleyan | 293.29 |
| 6 | Loras | 207.88 |
| 7 | St. Thomas (Minn.) | 191.84 |
| 8 | Concordia-Moorhead | 176.23 |
| 9 | St. Olaf | 169.49 |
| 10 | Hamline | 163.96 |
USTFCCCA NCAA Division III National Team Rankings - Outdoor Week 4
| Rank | School | Points | Prev. |
| 1 | Calvin | 152.42 | 4 |
| 2 | Illinois Wesleyan | 144.10 | 1 |
| 3 | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | 125.15 | 6 |
| 4 | Roanoke | 120.80 | 2 |
| 5 | Wartburg | 101.62 | 5 |
| 6 | Williams | 96.79 | 11 |
| 7 | St. Lawrence | 90.66 | 8 |
| 8 | TCNJ | 85.22 | 7 |
| 9 | MIT | 79.22 | 3 |
| 10 | Ithaca | 74.22 | 32 |
| 11 | Simpson | 69.65 | 23 |
| 12 | George Fox | 68.42 | 17 |
| 13 | Rhodes | 64.84 | 12 |
| 14 | Chicago | 64.53 | 9 |
| 15 | Rowan | 60.64 | 10 |
| 16 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 56.93 | 43 |
| 17 | Moravian | 55.18 | 20 |
| 18 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 53.40 | 40 |
| 19 | Cal Lutheran | 51.71 | 16 |
| 20 | Richard Stockton | 74.81 | 25 |
| 21 | Keene State | 74.71 | 27 |
| 22 | St. Norbert | 46.66 | 39 |
| 23 | Capital | 46.22 | 28 |
| 24 | Emory | 43.40 | 13 |
| 25 | Messiah | 43.37 | 19 |
