CEDAR FALLS, Iowa ?
Bradley junior Katie Nowak (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.) led the women's track & field team at the UNI Invite Saturday, cruising to a five second victory in the 1,000 meter run. Her victory marks the first individual victory for the Braves this season.
Nowak's time of 2:55.35 missed Deb Knieja's 1995 school record in the 1,000 meters of 2:55.24. The Braves dominated the race, claiming three of the top four slots in the race. Sophomore Rachel Brubaker (Davis, Ill./Durand H.S.) finished third with a time of 3:06.02, followed closely by freshman teammate Leann Murphy (Rochester, Ill./Rochester H.S.) in 3:06.87 for fourth place.
Senior Kim Martin (Bartonville, Ill./Limestone H.S.) set a personal best in the shot put for second consecutive week, placing 7th with a throw of 13.05 meters. Sophomore teammate Anne Bucalo (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove H.S.) was 19th, throwing the shot 11.32 meters. Sophomore Erika Sepich (Canton, Ill./Canton H.S.) was 11th in the long jump with a leap of 5 meters, while junior Trish Martens (Elgin, Ill./Burlington Central H.S.) was 11th in the triple jump with a jump of 10.36 meters.
In other running events, Sepich (Canton, Ill./Canton H.S.) led BU with a 19th place preliminary finish in the 60 meter dash with a time of 8.32 seconds. Sepich placed 40th in the 200 meter preliminaries in 28.57 seconds. She was followed by freshman Nadia LaBostrie (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood East H.S.) in 44th place with a time of 29.34 seconds, while Martens (Elgin, Ill/Burlington Central) was right behind LaBostrie in 29.53 seconds for 46th place. LaBostrie also ran in the 400 meters Saturday, placing 24th in 1:05.65. Junior Amanda Harms (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South H.S.) was the only Brave to run in the 60 meter hurdles, placing 20th in the preliminaries with a time of 10.19
Junior Shelby Lile (Jefferson City, Mo./Jefferson City H.S.) turned in her second consecutive top 20 finish in the 3,000 meters with a time of 11:01.52 for 18th place.
The Braves will run at Iowa State for the second time this season when they return to competition Feb. 15 in Ames.
