COLLEGE XC: Berg happy with second season at Simpson

Avid runner Doug Berg, a 2023 graduate of Nodaway Valley High School, continues to see his times drop in cross country. He recently finished his sophomore season of the sport at Simpson College in Indianola, where he also participates in indoor and outdoor track and field.

Berg said he was top 7 on his team in all but one race, meaning he consistently made the varsity squad. That led him to be happy with the season overall.

“On the first 8K of the season I ran 70 seconds faster than I did on the same course last year,” Berg said. “I didn’t have an extremely fast time this year because they weren’t great conditions, but I felt like I took a big step this year. My fitness was a lot better and I was a lot stronger runner.”

Berg put in a lot more miles this year than last year during the preseason and focused on strength training, which are two things he feels directly benefited him on the course through the season.

“Everything just pieced together for me to have a better season than I did the year before,” Berg said.

The Storm embarked on a rebuilding phase this year, having graduated a large portion of last year’s varsity team. That said, the group outperformed Berg’s expectations.

“We were a pretty young team overall. Hopefully in the next couple of years we’ll continue to move up in our conference standings and regional standings,” Berg said. “Hopefully we can have a shot at a berth at nationals.”

Berg and his team now shift their focus to indoor track and meets begin Dec. 6. Indoor track is one of Berg’s favorite part of his college athletics experience.

Indoor events Berg will focus on are the 1,600 meters, the 3K and possible the steeplechase. Outdoor, he’ll additionally focus on the 5K.

“I’m hoping I can get some personal bests this year in indoor and outdoor,” Berg said. “I think I can; I feel like I am progressing well and can piece together some of my best performances.”

A business administration major, Berg said he’s still very pleased with his choice of attending Simpson College.