Portland’s Noah Simpson to throw and play football for Olivet Nazarene University

Portland High School senior Noah Simpson will continue his throwing and football career at Olivet Nazarene University next year.

Simpson was on the PHS varsity football team for two years but saw limited action in his senior year due to injury. He recently started his third season on the PHS varsity track and field team.

Simpson has had incredible success as a thrower for the Raider track program in his sophomore and junior seasons. His accomplishments include:

2021 2nd in Discus at CAAC Championship

2021 All-CAAC 1st Team

2012 5th in Discus at Regionals

2021 Regional Medalist

2021 7th in Discus at Honor Roll

2021 6th in Shot Put at CAAC Championship

2021 All-CAAC Honorable Mention

2022 1st in Discus at CAAC Championship

2022 All-CAAC 1st Team

2022 2nd in Discus at Regionals

2022 Regional Medalist

2022 4th in Discus at Honor Roll

2022 Honor-Roll Medalist

2022 10th in Discus at State Meet

2022 8th in Shot Put at Regionals

2022 Regionals Medalist

When asked about is decision to attend this school, Simpson said, “ONU has been a school I have loved for years now from being down there all the time while my brother also attended there. A few of the reasons I picked ONU are the campus is beautiful, the community is fantastic, I wanted to attend Christian school, and the football and track coaches both wanted me to play for their teams which was a big one for me because I love both sports and couldn’t pick one over the other so having this opportunity is amazing.”

PHS track and field coach Bart Simpson told the Beacon, “Noah came into 9th grade with a big brother who was all-everything in Track (and Football) so he did not have a lot of self-confidence. He has worked relentlessly in the weight-room (his second home) and on his nutrition and has transformed himself into a pretty strong athlete.”

Coach Simpson also said, “Like Evan, Noah missed Freshman Track because of Covid and didn’t decide to come out for Track until the first day of practice his Sophomore year. Noah sprinted and ran in relays at practice the half of the year until he developed a knee problem and then took to throwing Shot Put and Discus. He immediately found success. Noah is an extremely obsessed worker and doesn't want to lose to anyone. I am contacted by colleges for these two every week D3, D2, NAIA (Noah had a few D1 offers last year). Both boys medal or win every Invite, but here are the 4 bigger (CAAC, Regionals, Honor Roll, States).”

Noah said, “I would like to thank my football coaches and my teammates for pushing me and helping me to get where I’m at in my athletic career. Also a huge thanks to my father (Bart Simpson) which is also my track coach, my brother, and my mom. Without them I wouldn’t have accomplished and I wouldn’t have this opportunity that I have today.”

Courtesy photo.