Braves Open Track Season on Saturday at Illinois

Missouri Valley Conference

Men's Track and Field 1/12/2018 1:47:00 PM

The Bradley track and field teams are back for the first time in 2018, opening the season at the Illinois Open on Saturday.

MEET INFO
Track events are set to being at 11:40 a.m. on Saturday at the UI Armory. The Braves are slated to compete in four events on the men's side (600m, 800m, mile and 3,000m) and six events for the BU women (60m, 200m, 600m, 800m, mile and 3,000m).

Other schools competing include the host Illini, Butler, DePaul, Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois (women), Northwestern (women), Saint Louis, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois and SIU Edwardsville.

Live results are available for the Illinois Open.

BRADLEY DEBUTS
Nine Braves are set to make their collegiate debuts on Saturday.

Freshmen Brian Leonard, Brayden Huddleston and Evan Mitchell are set wear the Bradley Red & White for the first time on the men's team with Leonard competing in the 800m run, while Huddleston and Mitchell race the mile.

Freshmen Latasha Ellis, Imani Hanson, Marta Pescador, Emma Planck, Laura Stuart and Soren Umali are all set for their debut on the women's side. Ellis is running the 60m and 200m dash with Hanson and Umali joining her in the 200m. Stuart is set for the 600m run, Planck will compete in the 800m run and Pescador completes the debutants in the mile run.

2017 INDOOR SEASON RECAP
The BU men had their most successful season in decades as the team posted its most points at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship since 1979. Three Braves return from last year's team that earned All-MVC honors, all as part of the title-winning distance medley relay squad – Daniel Gagne, Alec Hartman and David Shadid.

Also returning to action for the first time this academic year is redshirt junior Michael Ward. After sitting out the 2017 indoor and cross country seasons, Ward is set to compete in the 800m run on Saturday. A seven-time All-MVC honoree, Ward collected all-conference honors during the 2016 indoor season in the mile run in addition to 3,000m and DMR accolades in 2015.

On the women's side, senior Hannah Witczak is the team's top returner as she collected All-MVC accolades in the 5,000m run 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 added two top-10 finishes at the championship (3,000m and 5,000m).

2017 ILLINOIS RECAP
Last year in the season opener at Illinois, Haran Dunderdale opened the year by breaking the program's 800m run record (since broken by Alec Hartman). Patrick Campbell also claimed the individual title in mile run for the Braves, while Gagne recorded the fourth-best time in school history in the 800m run.

On the women's side, five Braves set PR times to open the year, led by Witczak and Mackenzie Griffin in the 3,000m run.

UP NEXT
The Braves are right back in action next weekend, competing in the two-day Gladstein Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

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