PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's and women's cross country teams have a busy week on tap, with the Braves hosting the 11th annual Bradley “Pink” Classic Friday afternoon at Newman Golf Course, in addition to sending squads to Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday.
The Bradley “Pink” Classic will feature over 900 individuals representing 45 universities and colleges in four races, with the day's events starting at 3 p.m. The women's 6K white race will kick things off at 3 p.m. followed by the men's 8K white race at 3:40 p.m. The NCAA Division I teams will line up for the final two races of the day with the women's 6K red race slated for 4:25 p.m. and the men's 8K red race wrapping up the event at 5:05 p.m.
All participants at the Bradley “Pink” Classic will wear special pink bib numbers on the front of their jerseys in addition to having the option of wearing pink bib sheets on their back with the names of individuals who have been impacted by breast cancer to recognize those individuals during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
The Bradley Classic is the first of two meets the Braves will host at Newman Golf Course with Bradley also hosting the 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional Friday, Nov. 14.
Bradley will send its top individuals to the Pre-Nationals meet in Terre Haute, Ind., Saturday morning. The Lavern Gibson Cross Country Course, which will serve as the site for the 2014 NCAA National Championships later this season, will welcome some of the top teams in the country for Saturday's event.
“This is a big weekend for us,” said first-year Bradley head coach Willy Wood. “The Classic is a great event and we look forward to welcoming a very large field to Newman as we get ready to host the NCAA Regional later this fall. It's also exciting to bring our teams to Pre-Nationals and see where we stack up with some of the top teams in the nation.”
Juniors Caitlin and Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) have paced the Braves in each of their first two outings and will help lead the Bradley women's cross country team in Saturday's 10 a.m. (CDT) 6K Blue Race at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind. Senior Emily Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) joined the Busch twins in the top 50 in the field at the Notre Dame Invite, while senior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) turned in a solid effort in her Bradley debut two weeks ago at Notre Dame.
On the men's side, seniors Eric Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) and Chase Coffey (Hanna City, Ill./Farmington) are both expected to lead the Braves in the 8K Blue Race slated for 10:35 a.m. (CDT). Delvo led Bradley at the Notre Dame Invite, placing 57th to finish 16 seconds out of the top 30, while Coffey was just seven seconds back of Delvo in South Bend, Ind. Joining the senior duo toward the front of the pack for the Braves will likely be sophomore Patrick Campbell (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa).
Next week the Bradley men's and women's cross country teams are scheduled to run at the Illinois Open in Champaign, Ill., on Friday, Oct. 24.
