NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Junior Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) finished 34th to help the Bradley women's cross country team to a 10th-place finish and senior Eric Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) was 57th in the men's five-mile to help the Bradley men's squad finish 19th Friday afternoon at the Notre Dame Invitational.
In a race which featured three nationally ranked teams and six teams which are currently receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA poll, the Bradley women took 10th overall. The men's race included 10 nationally ranked squads, with the Braves claiming 19th in the field of 24. Both the men's and women's teams took top honors among the Missouri Valley Conference squads competing.
Busch was the top individual from the three MVC schools competing in the women's 5K, posting a time of 16:58.3 to finish 34th overall. Twin sister Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) was close behind in 45th at 17:04.5, while senior Emily Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) crossed the line in 48th at 17:05.7 to help pace the Bradley women.
Senior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) looked strong in her Bradley debut, posting a time of 17:13.7 to finish 63rd and sophomore Casey Kramer (Yorkville, Ill./Yorkville) rounded out the team scoring for Bradley in 86th with a time of 17:25.1.
Bradley's top finisher at last year's Notre Dame Invitational, Eric Delvo once again paced the BU men's team with a 57th place finish and time of 24:16.2 to finish 16 seconds out of the top 30. Fellow senior Chase Coffey (Hanna City, Ill./Farmington) was on Delvo's heels at 24:23.1 to take 70th and sophomore Patrick Campbell (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa) followed closely in 90th (24:30.0).
Junior Marshall Moyer (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) clocked a 24:48.1, which was good for 130th, while junior Cole Dill (Tremont, Ill./Tremont) was just two seconds behind in 135th at 24:50.1 to complete the scoring for the Bradley men.
The Bradley women collected 271 points to finish 37 points back of ninth-place Toledo (234 points). Eastern Michigan was 38 points behind the Braves in 11th at 309. New Mexico, which is ranked 12th in the USTFCCCA national poll, claimed the team title with 49 points.
On the men's side, 19th-ranked Michigan won the team title with 97 points. The Braves were 19th in the team standings with 469 points, 22 back of 18th-place Butler (447) and three points ahead of Missouri Valley Conference rival Indiana State, which was 20th (472 points.)
Earlier in the afternoon, freshman Elena Danielson (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) paced Bradley at 18:16.1 to finish 20th in the women's open 5K Senior Kyela Specht (Munster, Ind./Munster) was 26th overall with a time of 18:22.2 to help lead the Braves.
In the men's open race, freshman Taylor Floyd Mews (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa West) was 16th in the field with a time of 25:07.9, with sophomore Steffen Uhrich (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) posting a time of 25:36.5 to finish 28th to help highlight the Friday's action.
The Bradley men's and women's cross country teams return to action Friday, Oct. 17 when they host the Bradley Classic at Newman Golf Course.
