As the weather is getting colder, the Bradley cross country teams are heating up.
The women’s team took third place in the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championships Sunday. It was the women’s best finish in the MVC Championships since taking third in 2009.
Freshman Sarah McMahon finished seventh in the women’s 5K race with a time of 18:11, becoming only the third freshman in program history to earn all-conference honors.
“I wasn’t expecting to [be all-conference], so I was kind of surprised and happy,” McMahon said. “It gives me a place to work from in the future.”
Freshmen Emily Delvo and Molly Dahlquist finished 12th and 13th, respectively. Delvo’s 12th place finish was the fifth-best time in program history by a freshman in the MVC Championships. Sophomore Cassie Lohmeier was named a Missouri Valley Conference scholar-athlete after placing 14th with a time of 18:29 and a 3.86 grade point average.
“I think [this season] is going better than we expected it to go,” McMahon said. “We are pretty excited, and pretty happy that we got third in conference.”
The men’s squad finished seventh, and were led by freshman Marshall Moyer, who paced the team with a 29th place finish and a time of 26:19.
“[This season has] been pretty good,” Moyer said. “I’ve had a couple of really good races, and a couple of experiences at the end of races that haven’t been quite pleasant.”
Moyer missed out on a top-25 finish by less than five seconds. Sophomore Nathan Davis and junior Jon Richards followed Moyer with a 31st place and 37th place finish, respectively.
“[The MVC Championships were] encouraging to me, and a good sign for our future, and to keep moving forward,” Moyer said. “This season has been a step forward in our progression. It’s an improvement from last year. I’m encouraged for next year and [NCAA] Regionals this year.”
Both teams will compete in the NCAA Region V Championships Saturday in DeKalb, with the men starting at 12 p.m. and the women beginning at 1:15 p.m.