Simpson does Grayson, Gwinnett and Bryan College Proud

As an alum of Bryan College, a Christian Liberal Arts College located in Dayton, TN between Knoxville and Chattanooga, I'm always proud of what the Lions have accomplished on the field, court and, in this case, the track.

I would like to take time to give props to Ericka Simpson, a Freshman member of the Bryan College Women's Cross Country and Track teams who hails from Grayson, GA. and graduated from Grayson HS. Simpson is another one of the many former Gwinnett area high school athletes who have gone on to excel at the college level.

In Cross Country, Simpson finished 32nd out of 114 runners in the Women's 5K with a time of 20:45.33 at the Southeastern Classic hosted by Berry College back on October 25 of last Fall. Two weeks later at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships, Simpson finished 15th overall with a time of 20:29 and led the Lady Lions to a 6th place finish.

But her most successful accomplishments this year came on the track. On Feb. 7 of this year at the Tiger Indoor Classic at Suwanee College, Simpson finished 11th overall in the Women's 1 Mile Run with a time of 5:47.70 and finished 2nd overall in the Women's 800 run with a time of 2:36.12. To open the Outdoor season, Bryan competed in the Wake Forest Open on March 21. While in Winston-Salem, Simpson opened her Outdoor season by setting a new school record in the Women's 5000 Meters with a time of 19:42.92. "Ericka got her first taste of five thousand meters and I thought she did a fine job. She can make a few adjustments and run much faster this outdoor season." Bryan Head Coach Rodney Stoker said.

Earlier this year, Simpson set another school record at the Niswonger Invitiational in Johnson City, TN. She did it in the Women's 300 Meter with a time of 11:25.79, winning the 3rd section of that event. Simpson continued her good showing recently at the Bryan College/Walker Valley HS Invitational on April 3 by finishing 2nd overall in the Women's 1500 Meters with a time of 5:20.61.

As I noted in my previous article about Gwinnett County area high school athletes succeeding at big time colleges and some going on to the pros, there are many more Gwinnett area Student Athletes like Ericka Simpson who are making their mark at the small college level. Ericka has had a tremendous Freshman year, and it will be exciting to see what she will do the next three years at Bryan. For more information about Bryan College and its Athletic Department, the reader can go to www.bryan.edu and click on the Athletics link.