Bradley University Athletics

Cross Country Heads to NCAA Midwest Regional

Missouri Valley Conference

NCAA Midwest Regional Website

Men's Cross Country 11/10/2016 3:20:00 PM

The Bradley cross country teams look to extend their 2016 seasons with a strong showing at the 2016 NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday. The women's 6K race is set to begin at 11 a.m., while the men's 10K race is scheduled for noon in Iowa City, Iowa.

The top two teams at each race will qualify for the NCAA Championship the following weekend. After the 18 automatic bids are handed out at the nine regional championships, another 13 teams will qualify through an at-large selection with Friday's results being a large determinant. In addition, the top four individual finishers at each regional that don't qualify through their team, will also earn an automatic placement at the national championship.

Fresh off their second-straight Missouri Valley Conference title, the Braves men's squad are looking to continue their best season in school history. The Braves won the conference title with the best score of any school in 34 years and placed five runners in the top eight at the championship meet. During their regular-season meets, the Braves twice defeated multiple nationally-ranked schools this season before earning votes themselves for the first time in program history.

Junior Michael Ward led Bradley with a second-place finish at the MVC Championship – the highest finish by a Brave in 51 years. A first-team All-MVC performer for the second-straight season, Ward has led the Braves in each of the four meets he has run this year.

Ward was closely followed at the conference championship by freshman Jake Hoffert. The rookie earned MVC Freshman of the Year accolades (the third Brave in four years to collect the honor) after crossing the finish line in third place. Ward and Hoffert were also joined on the all-conference first team by seniors Caleb Beck and Patrick Campbell and junior Taylor Floyd Mews.

Last season, the Braves placed ninth at the regional meet – matching the best finish in program history after the 1983 squad also placed ninth (with just 10 teams competing, however). With the men's team currently ranked fourth in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional poll, Bradley is 1-of-33 schools competing for a spot at the NCAA Championship.

The Bradley women's team finished second at the 2016 Missouri Valley Championship, marking the fourth-straight year the Braves have placed in the top two.

Junior Hannah Witczak crossed the finish line in fifth place to earn the All-Missouri Valley honors for the first time in her career. Overall, six Braves placed in the top 19 at the meet with freshman Erin Gallagher and sophomore Sara Piller also receiving honorable mention all-conference accolades with 11th and 14th-place finishes, respectively.

The women's team has placed in the top six at the NCAA regional meet in each of the last two seasons – running a program-best third in 2014 before a sixth-place finish a season ago. The Braves are ranked 14th in the latest USTFCCCA Midwest Regional poll and are 1-of-36 teams competing on Friday.

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