DES MOINES, Iowa – Sophomore Sarah McMahon (Colfax, Wis./Colfax) posted the highest finish of the day for Bradley, placing fourth in the 5,000 meters, while freshman Rachel Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) took fifth in both the 800 and 1,500 meters Sunday as the Bradley Track and Field teams wrapped up competition at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship Sunday.
The Bradley women's team finished eighth overall with 23 points for the squad's highest point total since tallying 24 points in 2010. The men's team was seventh in the field with 11 points, surpassing last year's total of eight points and marking the most points at the Valley Championship for the BU men since 1987.
Sudbury opened the final day of competition with a fifth-place finish in the women's 1,500. Her time of 4:33.19 was less than two seconds out of the top three and was the fastest time by a Brave since school record-holder Mary Goldkamp's performance at the NCAA Regional in May 2011.
In the men's 1,500 meters, sophomore Eric Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) scored two points with a seventh-place showing. He crossed the line with a time of 3:54.12, finishing less than one second away from earning all-conference honors.
An hour after running in the 1,500 meters, Sudbury returned to the track for the 800 meter finals and turned in another fifth-place finish. She was less than three-quarters of a second out of the top three with a time of 2:12.76.
McMahon and freshman Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) both turned in strong efforts in the women's 5,000 meters. McMahon finished fourth overall at 17:05.18, as she collected 11 of Bradley's 23 points. Busch added three points to the team point total, crossing the line at 17:27.96 to place sixth.
Sophomore Chase Coffey (Hanna City, Ill./Farmington) paced four Bradley individuals in the men's 5,000 meters. Coffey, who ran the 5,000 meters for the first time in his career, crossed the line at 15:08.14 to finish 11th.
Sudbury completed a busy day, joining with Elizabeth Dutcher (Williamston, Mich./Williamston), Hannah Booker (Tremont, Ill./Tremont) and Kyela Specht (Munster, Ind./Munster) in the women's 4x400 meter relay for an eighth-place finish. The group's time of 4:00.02 was the fastest effort for the Braves since 2005 and ranks as the fifth fastest time in school history.
Delvo, Aaron Peck (Moline, Ill./Moline), Evan Tuisl (Clinton, Iowa/Clinton) and Cole Dill (Tremont, Ill./Tremont) clocked a season-best time of 3:30.21 in the men's 4x400 meter relay to finish seventh in the event and close out the day's activities for the Braves.
"We had a very good final day,” said Bradley head coach Marc Burns. “Rachel (Sudbury) ran two smart and tough races. The 1500/800 meter double is extremely tough, but she battled hard in both races and came up big. (Sarah) McMahon and Kristen Busch strung out the 5K by leading the chase pack and it was fun to watch as they clipped off even paced laps.”
“Liz Smits ran a monster personal best in the 5000 meters and it is a great sign of what she is capable of in the fall,” added Burns. “We also had some nice performances in the opening heats of the 1,500 meters on both sides. Cole (Dill) and Dan (Allen) looked great finishing 1-2 with big kicks. Cassie (Lohmeier) and Lauren (Houmes) raced well leading to some big season and personal bests. Eric Delvo scored the first points ever for Bradley in the men's 1,500 meters. The 4x400 meter relays also ran seasonal bests. Overall both sides raced hard and that is what we asked them to do. They looked like they were having fun out there in a good way. We continue to make progress and that is very exciting. This team is ready to get rested and recovered and then get into their summer training plan. They believe that big things are ahead in cross country next fall"
