PEORIA, Ill. -- For the second straight year both the Bradley men's and women's cross country teams are the favorites heading into the Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships. The Bradley women will look to win a second straight title Saturday in Evansville, Ind., after winning last year's championship, while the Bradley men look to build on a program-best third-place finish in 2014.
Both squads return the bulk of their lineups from last year's MVC Championship with the lineup for the women's squad featuring four individuals who ran at last year's Valley Championship and five Braves who have conference championship experience. Six of the eight Bradley men slated to run were part of last year's third-place squad.
The MVC Championship is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at the Cross Country Course at Angel Mounds with the men's 8K Championship. The women's 5K championship will follow at 11:30 a.m.
On the women's side, Bradley returns a pair of All-MVC performers in twin sisters Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) and Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg). Caitlin was the individual champion at last year's MVC Championship, while Kristen earned her second All-Valley Cross Country honor last year after a fifth-place finish. Both have set school records this fall, with Caitlin posting the top 5K time in school history at Notre Dame in early October and Kristen breaking her sister's 6K school mark two weeks ago at Pre-Nationals.
In addition to the Busch twins, senior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) was 11th last year at the MVC Championship in Carbondale, Ill., to take home honorable mention All-Valley honors.
The Braves will also benefit from the return of three-time All-MVC Cross Country performer Sarah McMahon (Colfax, Wis./Colfax), who made her season debut at the Bradley Classic in mid-October. One of six seniors slated to run for the Bradley women, McMahon clocked a 6K time of 21:29.9 at the Bradley Classic two weeks ago in her only outing of the year. She was second at the MVC Championship in 2013 as a junior before missing the entire 2014 season with an injury and has finished in the top seven at the Valley Championship in each of her three seasons.
Last year the Bradley women won the Valley title by an impressive 32 points in 2014 and the 39 points by the Braves last season was the best point total at the MVC Championship since 2006.
Experience is also a strong point for the Bradley men, with the Braves lineup featuring six of eight individuals from last year's team which placed third to match the best conference finish in program history. In fact, Bradley's lineup features the last two MVC Freshman of the Year recipients in junior Patrick Campbell (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa) and sophomore Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen).
The 2013 MVC Freshman of the Year, Campbell is the top returning finisher for the Bradley men after taking 16th last year in Carbondale, Ill. Campbell has finished in the top 16 in each of his two previous MVC Championships and his career-best 8K time of 24:34.0 at Pre-Nationals earlier this month is tied for the fifth-best time in school history.
Last year's MVC Freshman of the Year, Ward placed 21st overall in 2014 and recently broke the 8K school record of 24:15 set in 1983 with a time of 24:11.9 at Pre-Nationals two weeks ago. Ward's time is the fourth-best in the MVC this fall.
Sophomore Taylor Floyd Mews (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa West) clocked the eighth-best time 8K time in school history at Pre-Nats in Louisville, Ky., earlier this month and will be running in his first MVC Championship. Junior Caleb Beck (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) also posted a career-best 8K time this fall and finished 29th at last year's MVC Championship.
The third-place finish last year for the Bradley men marked the first time the Braves finished in the top three since 1987 and the team's 82 points was the squad's best since 1983. Bradley finished just nine points behind 2014 champion Indiana State, which won a tie-breaker with Drake.
After Saturday's MVC Championship, the Braves will run at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lawrence, Kan., Friday, Nov. 13.
