CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Bradley men had the top two finishers in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and school records nearly fell in both the men's 1,500 and 3,000 meters as the Bradley men's and women's track and field squads ran at the Illinois Twilight Saturday night.
Junior Marshall Moyer (Burlington, Iowa/Burlington) nearly broke the school record in the men's 3,000 meters, finishing less than three seconds off Chase Coffey's record-setting pace set last year. Moyer, who was fourth in the 3,000 meters Saturday at Illinois, turned in the third-best time in school history at 8:32.46.
In addition to Moyer's efforts in the 3,000 meters, freshman Nikolas Hess (Rantoul, Ill./St. Thomas More) was seventh at 8:44.84 for the seventh-best time in school history in his first outing at that distance and junior Cole Dill (Tremont, Ill./Tremont) also made his 3,000 meter debut to finish eighth at 8:48.52.
In the women's 3,000 meters, junior Rosie Hiles (Hampshire, England/Alton College/University of Birmingham) and freshman Lauren Cunningham (Bayside, Wis./Nicolet) became the seventh and eighth individuals in Bradley history to break 10 minutes. Hiles took fourth with a time of 9:53.25 in her outdoor debut for the Braves to post the sixth-best time in program history, while Cunningham's time of 9:59.94 was good for fifth and ranks eighth in school history.
A school record almost fell in the men's 1,500 meters as well with freshman Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen) taking sixth overall. Ward's time of 3:48.77 beat his season-best time by nearly eight seconds and is the second best time clocked by a Brave. Sophomore Mike Bianchina (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) was on Ward's heels in seventh at 3:49.14 and so was fellow sophomore Daniel Gagne (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) in eighth (3:49.23). The trio turned in three of the top four 1,500 meter times in school history to wrap up Saturday night's action.
Junior Emily Delvo (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) paced a pack of Bradley women in the 1,500 meters late Saturday night and finished third overall at 4:28.04. Fellow junior Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) joined Delvo in the top 10 in the 1,500 meters, with a career-best time of 4:35.18 to finish seventh. Busch's time ranks 10th among career-best marks at Bradley.
Freshman Haran Dunderdale (Grantham, England/Carres) got the day started on a strong note by winning the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase in his debut in the event and the Braves had the two finishers in the field. Dunderdale took first with a time of 9:27.65, which ranks fifth in school history, while sophomore Steffen Uhrich (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) was close behind in second at 9:32.23 to top his career-best time by eight seconds.
In the women's steeplechase, sophomore Mackenzie Griffin (Petersburg, Ill./PORTA) posted a time of 12:01.15 to finish fifth in her first collegiate effort in the event.
Senior Kyela Specht (Munster, Ind./Munster) challenged her career-best time in the 800 meters and turned in the best time on the squad this season at 2:11.56 to take fifth overall. Sophomore Rachel Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) finished 12th in the field with a season-best effort of 2:15.55.
Senior Shane Garland (Webster Groves, Mo./Webster Groves) clocked a season-best time of 1:58.04 in the men's 800 meters to lead the Braves.
The Bradley men's and women's track and field teams return to action Thursday with contingents at both the Penn Relays and Drake Relays.
