Bak paces Storm at Nebraska Wesleyan

LINCOLN, Neb. – Kinsey Bak posted a season-best effort in the high jump, highlighting the Simpson track and field team's performance at the Prairie Wolf Invitational.

Sporting an abbreviated lineup, both teams placed fifth at a meet that is outside of the norm for the Storm.

"We had a good opportunity today and saw some bright spots in some areas," head coach Dave Cleveland said. "The weather was good and we saw some different competition. It was good to be somewhere else, which was fun for the kids. We need to get healthy and take care of some nagging injuries."

Bak won the high jump with a leap of 5-6, an effort which ties for sixth in the nation.

She also took second in the triple jump, reaching 36 feet, 4 inches. She placed third in the 100-meter hurdles, crossing in 15.36.

"I'm really excited about where she's at right now," Cleveland said of Bak. "We've focused a lot on being explosive and sticking to those events. She's showing she's going to be someone who will score points in a number of events. She's competing at a very high level right now and we feel like she's getting ready to take that next step in the next few weeks when it counts."

Bayley Fleshner added a second-place finish in the 100 hurdles, running 15.13 seconds in the finals. She broke 15 seconds for the first time in her career in the preliminaries, winning her heat in a time of 14.93.

Another notable performance was April Sigmund's second-place effort in the 400 meters. She finished in 1:00.89.

The 800 meters provided some excitement on the men's side.

Running the event for the first time since his freshman year of high school, Ben Coy ran a 1:57.51, taking fifth. Matt Stone (1:57.65) finished right behind Coy and Leif Jeppson (1:58.86) behind Stone. Mark Lahart placed 11th, setting a personal best by three seconds (2:01.89).

John Cord had the best finish of the day, taking second in the javelin throw (172 feet).

Tyler Kenny placed third in the 100 meters (11.32) and Josh Diehm tied for third in the high jump (6-3 1/4).

Simpson hosts the Kip Janvrin Open this Thursday and Friday, April 26-27. Simpson will also send student-athletes to the Drake Relays.