Storm Put Up 2 Provo Marks; Simpson Fourth At UCM Invite
The Simpson College (63.5) women's track and field team finished fourth at the Central Missouri Invitational Jan. 23 in Warrensburg, Mo. Central Missouri (145) was the team winner. The Storm were the only Division III school entered in the meet.
Kayla Knaack (Sr., Correctionville, Iowa, River Valley H.S.) provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championships as she won the weight throw with a toss of 50-6 3/4. Her performance is the fourth longest in school history. Knaack later finished sixth in the shot put (39-0 ½).
Lauren Bucklin (Jr., Bondurant, Iowa, Bondurant-Farrar H.S.) won the 60m hurdles in a time of :9.11. That performance provisionally qualified Bucklin for indoor nationals. She also won in the preliminaries with a time of :9.13. Bucklin later finished fourth in the 600 yard run (1:34.75).
Catie Ellingson (So., Indianola, Iowa, Indianola H.S.) placed second in the in the 800m (2:22.24). Sarah Hammel (Jr., Dorchester, Iowa, Waukon H.S.) was third in the 800m (2:22.84). Jess Christensen (Jr., Harlan, Iowa, Harlan H.S.) finished third in the 3000m (10:46.91). Carissa Coopman (Fr., Davenport, Iowa, North H.S.) was fourth in the shot put (40-8 ¾).
Kinsey Bak (Fr., Hinton, Iowa, Hinton H.S.) finished fifth in the high jump (4-11 1/2). Rachel Smith (Fr., Marion, Iowa, Marion H.S.) placed fifth in the mile run (5:42.19). Alyssa Hedrick (Jr., Council Bluffs, Iowa, Jefferson H.S.) was sixth in the 600 yard run (1:36.45).
The 4x400m relay of Hedrick, Hammel, Ellingson, and Erin Guzman (Fr., Traer, Iowa, North Tama HS.) came in sixth (4:25.55).
"We had some nice performances in a definite step up in competition," said Simpson head coach Dave Cleveland. "Kayla had a great night provoing for the first time in her career. She has worked very hard for this breakthrough. It was nice to get Lauren on the national list as well and win against a quality field. Jess Christensen ran great in the 3,000m. One thing that this trip showed that we need to work on is handling a long bus trip and being ready to compete when we get off the bus. We need to and will get better at the mental aspect of competing."
Team Scoring
- Central Missouri 145
- Emporia State 101.5
- Pittsburg State 101
- Simpson 63.5
- Missouri S&T 53