Peoria, Ill. ? The usual suspects paced the Braves in two competitive pre-conference tournament races at Newman Golf Course while two-time defending Canadian Interuniversity Sport Champion Windsor claimed the men's title and the Tigers of Missouri took top honors in the women's race.
The men's 8K got things started Friday afternoon on a mid-October day reminiscent of the sun-soaked days of the early summer.
Christiano Mauricio, the defending CIS champion, went wire-to-wire to take the men's race in a sparkling 24:18.07 over Missouri's Matt Noonan by 24 seconds.
Windsor placed all five scoring runners in the top 10 for 30 points and the team crown.
Bradley sophomore Chris George (Normal, Ill./University) clocked in his second straight season-best time of 25:57.99, just strides ahead of junior Abe Ramirez' second consecutive best time of the fall, 26:01.59. The top two Bradley runners took top-20 finishes in 17th and 18th respectively.
In all, Bradley's men received six season best times from George, Ramirez, freshman Pat Greene (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South), sophomore Nick Palumbo (McHenry, Ill./McHenry), sophomore Nathan Leech (Fremont, Neb./Fremont) and sophomore Matt O'Shea (Metamora, Ill./Metamora).
On the women's side, Missouri got out quickly and never looked back in claiming spots two through six along with an eighth place finish to earn the team championship over Northern Iowa.
Drake's Ashley Anklam was 15 seconds better than the field, running her way to the women's 6K title in 20:57.
Bradley's women were led by freshman Katie Nowak (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) in her second collegiate race. Nowak clocked in at 23:30, good enough for 23rd place overall.
Sophomore Ainslie Schultz' season-best 23:27 brought home a pack of four runners separated by just three seconds that included Bradley junior Sarah Westrick (Livonia, Mich./Winston Churchill) in 23:30, also a 6K best on the fall.
Every Bradley runner posted a season-best time in the 6K.
The Braves will have two weeks off before the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship meet on October 29th in Evanville, Ind.
