PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's and women's track & field teams will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for the 2016 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championship Saturday and Sunday at the UNI-Dome.
Both teams look to build on successful indoor seasons from 2015 which saw the women's squad collect a school-record 47 points and the men's team's 24 points ranking as the program's best performance since 1982. The Bradley men were picked to finish sixth in a pre-championship vote of the league coaches, while the women's team was tabbed eighth announced earlier this week.
Saturday's action is slated to begin at 3 p.m. with the 5,000 meter and distance medley relay finals highlighting a day which will also include the prelims of the 800 meters and mile. Competition on Sunday for the Braves will feature the finals in the 800 meters and mile along with the 3,000 meter championship and 4x400 meter relay starting at 1:25 p.m.
Coverage of the 2016 MVC Indoor Championship will be available on ESPN3 for both days. Saturday's broadcast will begin at 6:15 p.m., while Sunday's ESPN3 coverage will start at 1 p.m. ESPN3 can be viewed through WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app.
Senior Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) and twin sister Kristen Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) will both look to earn repeat all-conference honors in the 5,000 meters on the opening day. Caitlin won the event at last year's MVC Indoor Championship, while Kristen was the 2014 MVC Indoor 5,000 meter champ. Kristen owns the top time in the MVC in the 5,000 meters this year with a school-record time of 16:11.29 and Caitlin's career-best time of 16:12.18 set in mid-February is second in the Valley. In addition, senior Sarah McMahon (Colfax, Wis./Colfax) has earned All-Valley honors in the indoor 5,000 meters at each of her three previous indoor conference championships and is one of six Braves in the field.
In the men's 5,000 meters, senior Chase Coffey (Hanna City, Ill./Farmington) broke the school record earlier this month (14:11.14) and owns the second-best time in the MVC this year. He will be joined by juniors Patrick Campbell (Wauwatosa, Wis./Wauwatosa) and Caleb Beck (Oswego, Ill./Oswego), who owns the fourth and fifth best times in the MVC this year, respectively.
Sophomore Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen) will also help headline Friday's action in the mile after nearly breaking the four-minute mark earlier this year. Ward's time of 4:02.86 set at Notre Dame is second in the MVC this year. Juniors Daniel Gagne (Wauwatosa, Wis./East) and Mike Bianchina (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) will also challenge for spots in the mile finals.
The women's mile will feature junior Rachel Sudbury (Tomahawk, Wis./Tomahawk) and freshman Gabby Juarez (Streamwood, Ill./Streamwood) competing for a spot in Sunday's finals during Saturday's prelims. Sudbury's career-best time is third all-time at Bradley and fifth in the MVC this season.
Sunday's action will be highlighted by the men's and women's 3,000 meters. Ward took second in the men's 3,000 meters last year and his school-record pace of 8:05.66 set this year is third in the MVC in 2016. He and Coffey will likely challenge for top honors in the field, with Coffey's time of 8:05.68 ranking fourth in the league.
Kristen Busch was Bradley's top finisher in the 3,000 meters last year, taking third in 2015 and is a two-time All-Valley performer in the event. Caitlin Busch has the top time among the pair this season, however, at 9:25.01 for the second-best time in the MVC this year.
In addition to links to the ESPN3 coverage, BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live results for both days of the competition.
