The Storm are looking forward to an exhilarating indoor season after multiple top performances at their first meet of the season.
Sophomore sprinter Emma Cooper opened the season with a statement, taking out the first meet fast and breaking the school record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.88 seconds. The previous record was set by sophomore Jenna Thornburg at the American River Conference Indoor Championships in February.
“It was such a weird feeling because we’re like best friends as well,” Cooper said on breaking her teammate’s record. “So it’s been kind of fun to have that competitive aspect together, but also knowing that we’re just always going to be there for each other, supporting one another.”
Cooper also knows the record may not stay hers for long.
“I broke the record but it’s crazy that we still have two other girls that are right behind me that could also break it,” she said.
Cooper wasn’t the only one to start the season strong. Senior Kendrick Achebe tied his own school record, which he set last indoor season.
“I think our women’s team has a lot of strengths, a lot of depth in a lot of areas. I should see some good things happen, and then same thing with our men’s side,” head coach James Hoffman said, “We got a couple of men that have already showcased that they can be in the top 10 in the country in their events, and hopefully we can keep that way come March.”
The Storm’s standout performances didn’t end there. Freshman thrower David Souvongsavth was named the American Rivers Conference Field Athlete of the Week after his first collegiate meet. Throws coach Ashlan Burton said his high school personal record was 53 feet in the shotput, and at Grinnell he threw nearly 50 feet with a shot put four pounds heavier than high school.
“I think it was honestly really cool to see that happen for our team just because some of our freshmen might not have even known that was a thing that they could achieve,” Burton said. “It shows that there’s opportunity there to keep pushing ourselves to become better.”
Both the men’s and women’s rosters are heavy with underclassmen, many of whom competed in their first collegiate meet this past weekend. That didn’t stop the team from setting high standards.
“We had a good first meet with 16 top-10 marks,” coach Carter Berky said.
Tracking top-10 marks has become a major point of emphasis for Simpson track and field, giving athletes a clear picture of how close they are to school records and how much the program has grown.
“We’re sitting in a good position,” Hoffman said.
The season opening meet was small with only Grinnell College and Coe College in attendance, but it gave the Storm an early look at where they stand.
“I think it just sets down a standard from the start of the year, these are things that we can accomplish and our goals that we’ve set are in reach. They are achievable,” Cooper said.
The team has not yet fully regrouped to set collective goals since the distance runners only recently wrapped up their cross country season, but individual event groups are already aiming high. The team is motivated and wants to move up in conference placement.
“I’m excited. I think our team is going to do really good things this year,” Cooper said. “I’m just grateful that we have so many really good coaches that have brought in really good athletes.”
