CHAMPAIGN, Ill. ? The Bradley men's and women's cross country teams both opened their 2007 season with four-place finishes at the Illini Challenge in Champaign, Ill., Friday. Senior Nathan Leech (Fremont, Neb./Fremont H.S.) turned in a 13th-place finish to lead the men's team, while freshman Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.) paced the women's team with a 14th place finish.

The men's team finished fourth of six teams with a total of 104 points. Leech was the Braves top finisher, crossing the line in a time of 19:10 in the men's 6K to finish 13th. Redshirt freshman Andrew Wieser (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central H.S.) was the second Brave to finish clocking a 19:28 to finish 19th. Senior Nick Palumbo (McHenry, Ill./McHenry H.S.) finished right behind Wieser for a 23rd place finish with a time of 1938, while fellow senior Chris George (Normal, Ill./University H.S.) was next for the Braves at 19:47 for 26th place. The freshmen duo of Brian Tyne (Polo, Ill./Polo H.S.) and Tim Owdom (Morton, Ill./Morton H.S.) rounded out the men's finishes with finishes of 37th (20:12) and 44th (20:24), respectively.

Goldkamp paced the women's team with a time of 15:13 in the 4K, helping Bradley to a fourth-place finish, as the Braves finished 10 points behind host Illinois. Senior Ainslie Schultz (Forest City, Iowa/Forest City H.S.) completed the 4K course in a time of 15:27 for an 18th place finish and was followed by teammate Rachel Brubaker (Davis, Ill./Durand H.S.) in 19th place with a time 15:29. Junior Shelby Lile (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City H.S.) checked in with a time of 15:46 for 23rd place.

The Braves had another back-to-back finish with freshman Leann Murphy (Rochester, Ill./Rochester H.S.) crossing the line at 15:56 for 28th place and was followed by redshirt freshman Marlana Haefelin (Sandwich, Ill./Sandwich H.S.) in 29th place at 16:02.

Both teams return to action Friday, September 7 when the host the 22nd annual Bradley Open at Detweiller Park.