Storm relay squad, Perrin earn SC ESPY Record-Breaking Performer honors

INDIANOLA, Iowa - A record-setting relay team and a pair of record-breaking performances on the course open the 2025-26 SC ESPY Awards as Simpson's women's 4x100-meter relay team and men's golfer Blake Perrin are named Record-Breaking Performers of the Year.

On the track, Jenna Thornburg, Emma Cooper, Molly Moore and Aubrey McDaniel teamed up to rewrite the Simpson record books throughout the final month of the outdoor season, breaking a 29-year-old school record four separate times. On the course, Perrin tied the lowest round ever recorded by a Simpson men's golfer and briefly held the conference's all-time 54-hole scoring record at the A-R-C Championships.

The group becomes the first of this year's SC ESPY award recipients to be announced by the Simpson College Athletic Department. The 2025-26 Newcomers of the Year will be revealed tomorrow.

4x100 relay, women's track and field
The quartet of Jenna Thornburg, Emma Cooper, Molly Moore and Aubrey McDaniel turned in one of the best sprint relay seasons in program history, lowering Simpson's 4x100-meter relay record four different times over the course of a month.

The group first broke the longstanding program mark of 48.18, set in 1996, with a time of 48.14 at the Dutch Weather Saver on April 15. Fifteen days later, Simpson dipped below the 48-second barrier for the first time in school history with a 47.90 at the American Rivers Conference Championships.

The Storm continued to lower the standard over the next two meets, clocking a 47.66 at the Wartburg Final Qualifier before closing the year with a school-record 46.96 at the Midwest Twilight Final Qualifier on May 13. Chloe Wierson ran on the relay at the Wartburg qualifier in place of McDaniel.

Simpson finished the outdoor season tied for 27th nationally in the event, narrowly missing qualification for the NCAA Championships by just 0.13 seconds.

Blake Perrin, men's golf
Perrin delivered a pair of historic performances during the 2025-26 season, beginning with a school-record tying showing at the Wartburg Fall Invite on Sept. 27-28. The sophomore carded rounds of 68 and 68 across the two-day tournament, matching the lowest single-round score in program history alongside Josh Luehmann (2000), Matt Spaulding (2009), James Montgomery (2010), and Trent Lindenman (2014).

Perrin was nearly flawless over the 36-hole event, recording nine birdies and an eagle while carding just three bogeys to finish eight-under par and claim medalist honors by three strokes. He became the first Storm golfer to achieve two rounds of 68.

Later in the season, Perrin delivered another historic performance at the American Rivers Conference Championships. His 54-hole total of 214 temporarily set a new conference championship record before being surpassed by a single stroke later in the tournament. Perrin's mark still stands as the second-lowest 54-hole score in conference championship history and established a new Simpson program record at the league meet as he finished runner-up.