ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Senior Caitlin Busch (Waterloo, Ill./Freeburg) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week according to an announcement by the league office Tuesday afternoon.

Busch won the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor title in the 3,000 meters and narrowly took second in the 5,000 meters to earn all-conference honors in both events at last week's MVC Indoor Track & Field Championship.  Saturday, she and twin sister Kristen crossed the line together in the women's 5,000 meters at 16:42.68 to take top honors, with Kristen finishing thousandths of a second ahead. 

In the women's 3,000 meters Sunday, Caitlin edged out Kristen for the top spot by 13 one-hundredths of a second at 9:34.53 as she became the first Bradley runner to win the MVC Indoor title in the 3,000 meters since Mary Ellen Hill in 2000.  A health science major, Busch owns a 3.77 cumulative grade point average and earned MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors for the fourth time in her career.

To qualify for Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing.

Busch and the Bradley track & field teams will open the outdoor season March 26 at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic in Carbondale, Ill.