CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- Senior Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North) broke the school record in the 800 meters and turned in top three finishes in both the 800 and 1,500 meters to highlight the final day of competition for the Bradley track and field team at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship Sunday.
Goldkamp opened the day with a third-place finish in the 1,500 meters. The Valley's defending 1,500 meter champion, she crossed the line with a time of 4:28.56 to finish 3.82 seconds behind Illinois State's Jess Husted who claimed the title with a time of 4:24.74.
Freshman Sarah Higgins (Bourbonnais, Ill./Bradley-Bourbonnais) was one of five Braves to turn in season-best efforts in the 1,500 meters, clocking a 4:51.07 to finish 16th.
Less than an hour after her third-place finish in the 1,500 meters, Goldkamp returned to the track for the 800 meter finals and broke the school record she narrowly missed beating last month. After finishing seventh in the 800 meters at last year's MVC Championship, Goldkamp took second in her final Valley championship with a time of 2:09.11; breaking Katie Nowak's school record of 2:10.04 by nearly a full second. Northern Iowa's Holli Hosch won the event with a time of 2:07.37.
"Mary's effort today was tremendous," Bradley track and field head coach Marc Burns said. "She was pretty disappointed with a third-place finish in the 1500 and was determined to get some revenge in the 800. I am really proud of the way all the Braves competed this weekend, setting eight personal bests and 12 seasonal bests. Our goal was to set the standard for racing at our best at the MVC meet and we accomplished that this weekend. This was a big step forward for our program."
Junior Tatierra Bivens (Chicago, Ill./Marist) ran a season-best 27.67 seconds in the 200 meters, finishing 18th in the event, and was Bradley's top finisher in the 100 meters with a time of 13.48 seconds.
Senior Lauren Fog (Harvard, Ill./Harvard) was Bradley's lone competitor in the 5,000 meters, placing 16th (18:30.65).
Goldkamp and Higgins along with junior Michelle Hartman (Savanna, Ill./Prince of Peace) and freshman Emily Wolbers (Moline, Ill./Moline) took part in the 4x400 meters and finished eighth with a time of 4:06.40.
