Bradley University Athletics

Cross Country Competes at Illini Open

Duane Zehr, Bradley University ITPS

Sara Piller

Women's Cross Country 10/21/2016 6:26:00 PM

In the final meet before the Braves look to defend their Missouri Valley Conference Championship, the Bradley women's cross country team claimed the Illini Open title on Friday afternoon, while the men placed third.

The women's team won their third title of the season with the team victory at Illinois. The Braves scored 27 points for the win, outracing Illinois State (34), Northwestern (91) and Illinois (102) in the top four.

Individually, sophomore Gabby Juarez was the team's top finisher, running the 5K course in 18:13.6 to place second on the day. Overall, four additional Braves finished in the top 10 as Juarez was joined by Sara Piller in fourth place (18:29.1), Nicole Alfano in fifth (18:38.7), Mackenzie Griffin in sixth (18:39.9) and Brooke Nusser in 10th (18:51.0).

On the men's side, freshman Kerry Gschwendtner was the top finisher for the Braves, placing ninth overall with a time 26:08.8 on the 8K trek. Senior Steffen Uhrich also finished in the top 20 in 19th place, running in a time of 26:34.5.

With just five runners competing before the MVC Championship next weekend, the men scored 51 points and were bested by Illinois State (35) and Butler (46).

The Braves now turn their full attention toward the conference race next weekend. The Missouri Valley title is back on the line next Saturday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

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