BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Travis Gaffney earned his first career race victory as Cross Country kicked off the 2026 season at the Sam Bell Invitational on Friday morning.
The junior from Brockville, Ontario, earned first place in the men's 6K race with a time of 18:10.2, narrowly beating teammate
Jayde Rosslee by three-tenths of a second.
Jacob Trangmar placed third at 18:14.5, completing a top-three lockout for the Braves.
Jaxson Copelin (eighth, 18:29.3),
Caleb Lind (ninth, 18:31.5) and
Landon Pogue (10th, 18:32.3) rounded out the top 10, while
Michael Schmalz placed 11th at 18:36.8. In total, nine Braves placed in the top 15, and all 12 Braves finished in the top 20.
The team-wide success allowed the Braves to finish first as a team with 23 points, 11 points ahead of the hosts, Indiana.
Reigning MVC Freshman of the Year
Noelle Steines led the way for Bradley in the women's 4K race, placing second with a career-best 13:30.2. Freshman
Pauline Kleesiek placed fifth in her collegiate debut with a time of 13:57.0.
Rhune Vanroose and
Louna Schuler earned top 10 finishes, with Vanroose placing eighth at 14:09.9 and Schuler claiming ninth at 14:11.7 in her first collegiate race.
Carissa Hamilton rounded out the scoring in 12th at 14:24.4.
Sonja Inzinger (14:41.6) and
Sophia Cino (14:44.5) rounded out the top 20 finishers.
The team placed second overall with 36 points, 45 points ahead of third-place Ball State. Indiana won the women's team title with 21 points, led by race-winner Katy Zang's time of 12:36.2.
COMING UP...
The Braves return to the course on Friday, September 18th, for the 39 annual Bradley Intercollegiate, held at Detweiller Park on the north side of Peoria. Racing begins at 5:15 p.m.
BRADLEY RESULTS
