AMES, Iowa – Freshman Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen) broke a school record for the second time in as many weeks, breaking the school mark in the 3,000 meters Saturday to highlight action for the Bradley men's and women's track and field teams at the Iowa State Classic.
Ward, who broke the school record in the mile last week at Notre Dame, turned in another record-setting performance Saturday afternoon in the 3,000 meters. He broke Eric Delvo's 2014 school record in the 3,000 meters by over 12 seconds, finishing fifth overall at 8:10.22.
In addition to Ward's performance, the Bradley men nearly re-wrote most of the top 10 in school history in the 3,000 meters by posting four of the top seven times in Bradley history. Sophomore Daniel Gagne (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) was 17th with a career-best time of 8:24.22 for the third-best time in school history, while fellow sophomore Caleb Beck (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) was one second behind at 8:25.22 in 18th. Beck's time is the fifth-fastest 3,000 time at Bradley.
Freshman Haran Dunderdale (Grantham, England/Carres) also turned in a strong performance in the first 3,000 meters of his collegiate career, clocking the seventh-best time in school history at 8:27.80 to finish 20th.
Sophomore Mike Bianchina (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) was impressive in the mile and took sixth with an effort of 4:11.84. His time is the third fastest on the team this season and fourth best in Bradley history.
On the women's side, junior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) became the sixth individual in program history to break 10 minutes in the 3,000 meters. In the first 3,000 meters at Bradley, Hiles posted the sixth-fastest time in school history (9:58.56) to finish 13th in the event.
In the women's 800 meters, junior Emily Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) crossed the line in a time of 2:11.94 to finish 23rd overall in her first outing in the event in 2015. Fellow senior Kyela Specht (Munster, Ind./Munster) was close behind in 27th with a season-best time of 2:13.31.
The Bradley men's and women's track and field teams are back in action next Saturday, running at the Alex Wilson Invitational in Notre Dame, Ind., in addition to the Orange & Blue Open in Champaign, Ill.
