Bradley University Athletics

Cross Country Named Valley Favorites

Cross Country 8/16/2018 9:00:00 AM

The Bradley cross country teams were selected to continue their dominance atop the Missouri Valley Conference as both the men's and women's programs were voted first in the preseason coaches poll, announced by the conference on Thursday.

The three-time defending champion, the Bradley men's team was a unanimous selection to become the first program since Southern Illinois from 1980 to 1983 to win four-straight conference titles. The women's team received nine of 10 first-place votes as it goes for its fourth title in five years when Bradley hosts both championships on Oct. 27 at Newman Golf Course.

Highlighting the returnees for the Bradley men's program is junior Jake Hoffert. Last season, Hoffert became the first Bradley man in 52 years to win the individual conference crown when he crossed the finish in first place at Missouri State. The Braves also bring back a pair of honorable mention all-conference honorees from last season in senior Nikolas Hess and sophomore Alec Danner.

Additionally, Bradley returns three letterwinners who redshirted the 2017 cross country season in seniors Michael Ward and Haran Dunderdale and junior Will Anderson. Ward became the first Brave in program history to earn a bid to the NCAA Championship in 2016, while winning a pair of individual titles at the 2018 MVC Indoor Championship. Dunderdale is also a two-time individual champion in track – taking the steeplechase crown at last year's outdoor meet – while Anderson placed in the top 10 of four different track events at the last year's MVC Championships.

The women's team is coming off one of the most dominant championships in league history from a year ago. The Braves placed five runners in the top eight for the second-best score in Valley history, returning three all-conference selections. Senior Sara Piller led the Bradley pack with a fourth-place finish, while the Braves also bring back juniors McKenzie Altmayer (sixth), Abby Jockisch (seventh) and Kirstin Oakley (16th).

The Braves also return junior Gabby Juarez after redshirting the 2017 campaign. Juarez placed 31st at the MVC Championship as a rookie in 2015 before a 19th-place finish in 2016.

Bradley led the men's poll with 81 points, while Illinois State (67), Indiana State (60), Loyola (51) and Drake (49) rounded out the top five. On the women's side, Bradley's 99 points were followed by Loyola (88), Indiana State (74), Northern Iowa (73) and Illinois State (63).

Bradley opens the 2018 schedule on Friday, August 31 at the Western Illinois Early Bird Invite. Bradley then returns home for the first of five meets in Peoria with the Bradley Intercollegiate slated for September 14 at Detweiller Park.

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