PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's track and field team will compete at a Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship for the first time since 1992 and the Bradley women's team looks to build on last year's school record 46 points at the Valley Indoor Championship when both teams take part in the 2015 MVC Indoor Championship Saturday and Sunday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Freshman Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen) is expected to highlight action for the Bradley men after breaking school marks in both the mile and 3,000 meters in the last few weeks leading up to the MVC Indoor Championship.
On the women's side, juniors Emily Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) and Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) will look to repeat as Valley Indoor champs, while junior Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) has carried over her success from the fall which saw her win the MVC women's cross country individual title into the 2015 indoor track season.
The MVC Indoor Championship homepage (http://www.mvc-sports.com/trackfield/news/2014-15/7853/2015-indoor-track--field-championship/#.VO87QNF0y9I) features a full schedule of events and live results. A free video stream will be available through ESPN3.
Competition is slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the UNI-Dome with junior Elizabeth Dutcher (Williamston, Mich./Williamston) competing in the pentathlon. Dutcher turned in a school record performance in the pentathlon at last year's indoor championship.
Saturday's running events will start at 3 p.m. and the mile prelims will help highlight the afternoon's action at 4 p.m. Delvo owns the top mile time on the team this season after clocking a career-best 4:55.70 at Notre Dame in early February and is one four Bradley women entered to run. Sophomore Mike Bianchina (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) owns the fourth-best mile time in school history on the men's side and is one of two Braves scheduled to run Saturday. The finals for the mile will open Sunday's events at 1:45 p.m.
Delvo, who swept the Valley indoor and outdoor 800 meter titles last year, will return to the track later at 5:45 p.m. for the 800 meter prelims. She was less than four-tenths of a second from breaking the Bradley indoor mark last week at Notre Dame and is one of five Braves trying to reach Sunday's 3:25 p.m. finals.
Sophomore Thomas Razo (Lockport, Ill./Lockport) owns the top 800 meter time among the four Bradley men slated to run in the event Saturday. Razo's time of 1:56.35 from earlier this month was the top time at Bradley since 1992 and ranks fourth in program history.
The Busch twins will line up for the 5,000 meters at 6:25 p.m. Saturday with Kristen tying to defend her MVC Indoor title from 2014. Twin sister Caitlin owns the top 5,000 meter time in the MVC this year, however, as the pair are expected to challenge for the title.
Sophomore Caleb Beck (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) nearly broke the school record in the men's 5,000 meters this season and owns the 10th-best time in the Valley this year in the event. Saturday's action wraps up with the distance medley relay at 7:25 p.m.
In addition to the finals for the 800 meters and mile, Sunday's highlights for the Braves will also include the 3,000 meters at 3:45 p.m. Kristen Busch was second in the event last year and owns the top time this season for Bradley, while Caitlin and junior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) combine to make up half of the six individuals in program history who have run a sub 10-minute 3,000 meters and will all run Sunday afternoon.
Ward will help pace a group of seven Bradley men in the 3,000 meters, which features individuals who have clocked six of the top 10 3,000 meter times in school history this season. Ward's school-record pace of 8:10.22 is third in the MVC this year and just eight seconds off the top time in the league.
The teams wrap up the two-day meet Sunday at 4:40 p.m. with the 4x400 meter relay. The Bradley women set the school record in the 4x400 relay last year.
