Five More All-Valley Performances Highlight Final Day at Track Championship

Complete Results

Track & Field 5/12/2019 5:03:00 PM

The Bradley track teams added five additional all-conference performances during the final day of the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship, highlighted by breaking a 38-year old school record in the 4x400 relay.

In the final race of the day for the Bradley men, the team of senior David Shadid, junior Scott Seymour, freshman Joey Simon and sophomore Alec Hartman clocked a time of 3:16.49 in the 4x400 relay to finish third. Not only did the Braves earn all-conference honors in the event for the first time since reintroducing the track program in 2012, but BU established a new school record by one hundredth of a second, topping the previous mark of 3:16.50 that was set in 1981.

Bradley's performance in the 4x400 bumped its point total at the meet to 70 – easily setting the school's record for most points at the Valley Outdoor Championship. The previous high was 57 points set last season as BU placed seventh in the team standings, while earning six all-conference performances during the three-day meet.

Senior Michael Ward led the day for the Bradley men, finishing second in both the 1,500m and 5,000m on Sunday to land on the podium twice. In his final Valley meet, Ward finished the 1,500m in 3:52.07, while coming back just an hour later to cross the finish line in 14:23.71 in the 5,000m – earning all-conference accolades for the 10th and 11th times during his career on the track.

Three additional Braves scored in the two events. Ben Potrykus was eighth in the 1,500m in 3:56.26, while Jake Hoffert and Alec Danner placed fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 5,000m with times of 14:32.72 and 14:29.51.

Prior to setting the school record in the 4x400, Hartman, Seymour and Shadid all scored for BU in the 800m run. Hartman earned all-conference honors for the fourth-straight championship in the event and placed third with a time of 1:50.47. Seymour, meanwhile, crossed the finish line in fourth in 1:50.61, while Shadid was sixth in 1:51.86.

Senior Niamh Markham highlighted the championship for the Bradley women, earning her first collegiate all-conference honors in an individual event on Sunday. The senior finished as the runner up in the 1,500m with a time of 4:31.56, adding to her distance medley relay title during the indoor championship. Senior Brooke Nusser also scored with an eighth-place finish in 4:37.01.

Markham was also a member of the women's 4x400 relay that placed fifth in the championship at 3:54.26 – the second-best time in school history and Bradley's fastest relay since 1982 (3:52.78). Also featured in the relay was freshman Hannah Ivy and seniors Savana Peterson and Kathryn Adelman.

Junior Gabby Juarez completed the scoring for the BU women, who placed eighth as a team with 31 points, as she finished eighth in the 5,000m with a time of 17:10.34.

Markham was also honored for her work off the track at the championship as the senior earned the conference's Elite 17 Award for owning the top GPA by an all-conference performer.

Bradley now turns its attention toward the NCAA West Preliminary in two weeks. The early rounds for the NCAA Championship are slated to begin on Thursday, May 23 at Sacramento State.

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