PEORIA, Ill. -- Senior Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North) will be chasing history at this weekend's State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, which will be held Friday through Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The defending 1,500 meter champ, Goldkamp has a chance to become the just the third two-time conference champion in program history. Charlene Dewey won the heptathlon in 1983 and again in 1986, while Mary Ellen Hill won outdoor titles in the 3,000 meters (1998), 5,000 meters (1998) and 10,000 meters (2000).
Goldkamp edged Wichita State's Tonya Nero at last year's Valley championship in Normal, Ill., for the 1,500 meter title and the pair currently own the top two times in the conference this season. A special video report for Bradley Assistant Director of Communications Dave Snell is available here.
Nero clocked the best time in the Valley in the 1,500 last month at Sacramento State, while Goldkamp has improved her own school record each of her last two races and her time of 4:23.29 is a half-second behind Nero's season-best effort.
"We are excited about the opportunity to compete at the Valley Championships this weekend," said Bradley track and field head coach Marc Burns. "The team just keeps getting better each week and we feel like we will see many personal bests this weekend. Mary will be in the hunt for titles in both the 1500 and the 800 meters, while the rest of our seniors are looking forward to finishing their Valley careers in style."
In addition to highlighting a field of eight Bradley runners in the 1,500 meters, Goldkamp is also expected to pace seven Braves in the 800 meter prelims which are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday. Her 800 meter time of 2:10.12 is third best in the Valley and she finished less than a tenth of a second from Katie Nowak's school record set at last year's conference championship. Goldkamp finished seventh in the 800 meters last year in Normal, Ill.
The MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championship gets under way Friday morning, but the Braves first event is slated for Saturday afternoon when junior Lyndsey Cleghorn (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) and Kourtnie Janson (Cambridge, Ill./Cambridge) compete in the high jump.
Bradley's first running event is scheduled for Saturday at 5:40 p.m., with junior Tatierra Bivens (Chicago, Ill./Marist) racing in the 100 meters. The 800 meter prelims will start at 6 p.m. Saturday and include junior Michelle Hartman (Savanna, Ill./Prince of Peace) and freshman Sarah Higgins (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) in addition to Goldkamp. Hartman turned in a season-best time of 2:18.97 last time out at the Kip Janvrin Open. Saturday's action also includes the 200 meter prelims (6:40 p.m.), which feature Bivens and senior Jaclyn Gonzales (Fullerton, Calif./Union).
The final day of competition opens at 1:10 p.m. with Goldkamp looking to defend her 1,500 meter title against a field which includes seven other teammates. Senior Lauren Fog (Harvard, Ill./Harvard) and freshman Cassie Lohmeier (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) will both run in the 5,000 meters at 3:05 p.m.
Goldkamp will join Hartman, Higgins and freshman Emily Wolbers (Moline, Ill./Moline) in the 4x400 meter relay to wrap up the final day of events for the Braves.
