Bradley University Athletics

Five Braves Named MVC Scholar Athletes

Ben Adamson

Women's Cross Country 10/31/2017 11:55:00 AM

The Missouri Valley Conference announced the 2017 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Teams on Tuesday with five Braves from the men's and women's MVC Championship winning programs earning the distinction from the conference.

Individual champion Jake Hoffert led the honorees, while a conference-best four women received the accolade – seniors Natalie Burant and Hannah Witczak, junior Sara Piller and sophomore Abby Jockisch.

To earn a spot on the conference's Scholar-Athlete Teams, a student-athlete must finish among the first 20 runners at the conference championship and hold at least a cumulative 3.2 grade point average, while being a sophomore in both athletic and academic standing.

Hoffert led the BU men's team to its third-straight MVC Championship, while becoming the first Brave in 52 years to win the individual title. Hoffert ran the 8K course in 24:37.87 to become just the second Bradley runner overall to place first in the race and the first since Rod Collins in 1965. The Scholar-Athlete Team accolades are the first for the sophomore and 2017 MVC Male Cross Country Athlete of the Year during his collegiate career.

The Bradley women's team cruised to its third MVC Championship in four years, posting one of the most dominating performances in meet history. The Braves recorded the second-lowest score (30) in conference history with five runners placing in the top eight.

Piller led the way for the Braves and was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team for the second-straight season. The junior crossed the finish line in fourth place and was followed by Burant in fifth, Jocksich in seventh and Witczak in eighth. The trio each earned the accolade for the first time in their career.

The Braves now turn their attention toward the NCAA Midwest Regional with the hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. The regional is slated for Friday, Nov. 10 in Ames, Iowa.

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