EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen) broke his own school record in the 8K and was one of three Bradley men to place in the top eight as the Braves claimed their first Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship Saturday morning at The Cross Country Course at Angel Mounds.
Bradley, which had never finished higher than third at the MVC Championship prior to Saturday, was the first team other than Indiana State or Southern Illinois to claim the Valley men's title since Northern Iowa did so in 2003. After a third-place finish at last year's MVC Championship, the Braves placed in the top three in the field in consecutive years for the first time since 1982 and 1983.
Ward topped his own school record by eight seconds to take fourth in the field with a new school mark of 24:03.07. The 2014 MVC Freshman of the Year, earned First-Team All-MVC honors and his fourth-place finish was the best by a Bradley men's runner at the Valley championship since Rich Kruiswyk was fourth in 1983.
"The men had adversity out there, but we had people step up and help the team out," said first-year Bradley head coach Darren Gauson, who was named MVC Coach of the Year. "They ran tough and were able to bring home the championship."
In addition to Ward's efforts, sophomore Taylor Floyd Mews (Milwaukee, Wis./Wauwatosa West) clocked the second-best time in school history at 24:09.84 to finish sixth overall and earn All-Valley honors. His time was 26 seconds better than his previous career-best set two weeks ago at Pre-Nationals.
Bradley had three individuals earn All-MVC recognition at the MVC Championship for the first time since 1983 with junior Patrick Campbell (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa) finished eighth overall. Campbell's time of 24:15.21 ranks fourth in Bradley history as he improved his career-best 8K time by 19 seconds.
Junior Caleb Beck (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) crossed the line in 23rd with a time of 24:53.53 and sophomore Haran Dunderdale (Grantham, England/Carres) rounded out the team scoring for Bradley in 26th at 25:06.31. Dunderdale was one of four Braves to clock career-best times at Saturday's MVC Championship.
Bradley finished first with 65 points, followed by I-74 rival Illinois State in second at 76 points. Wichita State was third in the field at 78 points with Indiana State (86 points) and Southern Illinois (111 points) rounding out the top five. Loyola claimed sixth with 128 points to edge out Drake (129) by one. Northern Iowa was eighth (147) and Evansville completed the field in ninth (215).
Ward also earned the MVC's Elite 18 Award which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest finish and cumulative grade-point average competing at the finals site at each of the MVC's 18 team championships. A biochemistry major, Ward owns a 3.86 cumulative grade point average.
The Bradley men's cross country team returns to action Friday, Nov. 13 at 1 p.m. at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lawrence, Kan.
Caitlin Busch & Bradley Women Repeat As MVC Champs
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Senior Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) became only the sixth runner in Missouri Valley Conference history to claim consecutive individual MVC Cross Country titles and helped the Bradley women's cross country team repeat as team champs with a victory Saturday morning at the 2015 Valley Championship.
Busch posted the top time at the MVC Championship since 2005 and joined Bradley Hall of Fame member Mary Ellen Hill as one of six back-to-back MVC Cross Country individual champions in league history after also claiming top honors at last year's event.
Caitlin combined with twin sister Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) to give Bradley, which was the pre-championship favorite to defend its team title, two of the top three finishers in the field. The Braves had three of the top 14 and five in the top 19 overall to finish with 54 points. Wichita State was second at 76 points with I-74 rival Illinois State a distant third at 94 points.
"The women were down at the two-mile mark, but we had some big performances notably Abby (Jockisch) who produced her best performance today," stated 2015 MVC Cross Country Coach of the Year Darren Gauson.
The individual title gives Caitlin back-to-back MVC Athlete of the Year honors as she garnered All-MVC recognition for the second straight season. She broke her 5K school record time by over six seconds, crossing the line at 16:54.20 as she outkicked Illinois State's Ariel Michalek, who posted a time of 16:57.78, for the top spot.
Kristen also clocked a career-best 5K time Saturday, taking third overall at 17:01.41 to post the second-best time in program history. The third-place finish made Kristen the third three-time All-MVC Cross Country runner in program history as she joined senior teammate Sarah McMahon and Mary Ellen Hill on the exclusive list.
Senior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) took home honorable mention All-Valley honors for the second straight year. Hiles was 14th overall at 17:37.52, missing a career-best time by three seconds.
Fellow senior Rachel Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) was three seconds from also garnering honorable mention all-conference honors, crossing the line in a career-best time of 17:40.11 to finish 17th. Her time ranks eighth among Bradley marks. Freshman Abby Jockisch (Peoria, Ill./Dunlap) was also strong in her first Valley Championship turning in a season-best time of 17:44.21, which ranks 10th in school history, to take 19th in the field and round out the team scoring for the Braves.
The title was Bradley's second straight and third overall. In addition, Bradley is the first team in MVC history to win the team title and claim the individual winner in back-to-back seasons.
The Bradley women's cross country team returns to action Friday, Nov. 13 at noon at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lawrence, Kan.
