PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's and women's cross country teams return to action Friday at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships in Normal, Ill., after strong season-opening performances at the 25th Bradley Open Friday at Detweiller Park.  The women's 5K will start at 5 p.m. with the men's 8K at 5:45 p.m. at the Weibring Golf Course.

Both teams were led by freshman at last week's season-opening Bradley Open, highlighted by freshman Marshall Moyer's (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) first-place finish in the men's 6K event.  On the women's side, freshman Sarah McMahon (Colfax, Wis./Colfax) finished fifth in the three-mile race to pace four Bradley underclassmen in the top nine in the field.

The women's cross country team moved into the regional rankings after last week's outing, checking in at #15 in the Midwest Region this week.  The Braves will see several regionally ranked teams during this week's competition, including host Illinois State which is 12th in the latest regional rankings.

"We are looking forward to getting our first 5k/8k under our belt this weekend," Bradley head coach Marc Burns said. "There are a lot of great teams in Illinois and we look forward to building on our team finish from last year.  Our goal is to move up the ladder each year and be in position to challenge for the title in the next couple of years.  We have some work to do, but we are looking forward to the development."

Sophomore Thomas Harayda (Peoria, Ill./Richwoods) is the men's teams top returning finisher from last year's Illinois Intercollegiate Championships, placing 29th at last year's event.  Sophomore Cassie Lohmeier (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria) is the top returning performer on the women's side, finishing 31st in Normal, Ill., in 2010. 

The Braves return to action Sept. 30 at the Notre Dame Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind.