The Bradley track and field teams begin the 2017 outdoor season on Saturday, competing at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic on the campus of Southern Illinois.
MEET INFO
The track events begin on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
A total of eight schools will be competing at the classic. Joining the Braves are the host Salukis, MVC foes Loyola and Northern Iowa as well as DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Maryville.
INDOOR SEASON RECAP
The Braves are back in action for the first time since wrapping up the indoor season at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship on Feb. 26. The men's team posted 59 points at the championship – the most for BU since 1979 – with
Haran Dunderdale becoming the first member of the team to win an individual title in 34 years when he claimed the mile run crown in a time of 4:12.76. Dunderdale also teamed with
Daniel Gagne,
David Shadid and
Alec Hartman to win the distance medley relay, while
Patrick Campbell was named to the All-MVC Team in both the 3,000m and 5,000m events.
On the women's side, junior
Hannah Witczak collected All-MVC accolades in the 5,000m with a time of 16:56.74, just missing the top of the podium by 0.73 seconds. Witczak also placed seventh in the 3,000m run, while
Sara Piller and
Rachel Sudbury also recorded top-10 finishes at the championship.
2016 SIU RECAP
Michael Ward and Piller both won titles at the first outdoor meet of the season a year ago at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic. Ward won the 1,500m run, while Piller claimed the women's 5,000m title. Additionally, Shadid posted the best time in the 400m run by a Brave in 34 years at the meet.
SATURDAY LINEUP
Ward, who did not compete during the indoor season and is making his first appearance since cross country, is set to defend his title in the 1,500m run and will lead a group of 11 Braves in the event. Shadid is also set to run the 100m and 200m events for the Braves with
Patrick Quinn joining in on the 200m run.
Sandy Freeland,
Nick Porter,
David Rodriguez and
Luke Versweyveld will also run the 800m.
On the women's side, nine Braves will participate in the 1,500m run, including Piller this season. Overall, 21 different members of the team will compete in six events for the Braves, including the 100m dash, 400m dash, 800m run, 5,000m run and 3,000m steeplechase. Making her first appearance of the 2016-17 season is
Abby Jockisch. The redshirt freshman was a key member of the BU cross country champions in 2015 before missing more than a year with an injury.
UP NEXT
The Braves are back in action next weekend, competing at three separate meets. Friday's slate includes the Stanford Invitational and the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, while the team will also compete at the EIU Big Blue Classic on Friday and Saturday.
