For the fifth straight year, the Simpson College men’s cross country team enters the season ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason rankings, placing seventh in the Midwest region.
The Storm return four of their top seven finishers from the NCAA Midwest Regional where Simpson placed seventh overall in the region out of 32 teams. Simpson is led by four top-100 finishers from the regional meet, headlined by James Johnson with Ezra De Cleene, David Lochner and Ben Reyes rounding out the list. The A-R-C All-Conference selection in Johnson leads the returners after placing 29th with a time of 25:21 at the regional.
Simpson was joined on the USTFCCCA preseason regional ranking by fellow A-R-C schools Wartburg, Loras, Central, Nebraska Wesleyan and Dubuque. Six of the top 10 teams in the Midwest region, including the preseason-favorite Wartburg, hail from the American Rivers Conference.
The Storm begin the 2026 campaign by hosting the annual Bill Buxton invitational on Friday, Sept. 4 in Indianola.
*from simpsonathletics.com
