In America, 3.5 out of 1,000 twins are identical.
There are currently 460,000 NCAA student-athletes in the U.S, and of those athletes, only 170,000 play Division I sports.
Based on those numbers, it’d be far-fetched to think that there is a set of twins both competing in a Division I sport, let alone on the same team.
Look no further than the Bradley Women’s Cross Country team, where you’ll find Caitlin and Kristen Busch, twins who are thriving on the Division I and Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) stage.
Caitlin and Kristen, both senior health science majors, were born in Belleville, Illinois. Both ran cross country and track, as well as playing basketball in high school.
Caitlin was a four-time all-state and all-conference performer in cross country. She finished fourth at the IHSA Class 1A state championship as both a sophomore and junior.
Kristen was the 2010 IHSA Class 1A state cross country champion as a junior. She claimed three state titles in the 3200-meters, and finished in the top four at the IHSA Class 1A cross country state championship all four years.
“We’ve always been really close,” Caitlin said. “It was kind of like growing up with a best friend. We always had the same classes and played the same sports.”
Kristen said the sports they played didn’t stop at just a few.
“We played all the different sports growing up,” Kristen said. “We were big into softball when we were younger, and surprisingly, we didn’t get into running until high school. We ran track in grade school and liked the long distance events, but didn’t even know what cross country was until high school.”
While playing sports made them competitve, it never forged a sibling rivalry between the two.
“We’ve always been competitive with sports in general, but not necessarily with each other,” Caitlin said.
The plan to go to the same college was always in the works for the Busch twins, but when they started their college search, they had no idea where it would take them.
“We knew we wanted to go to the same college because we knew we wanted to be roommates and to be on the same team,” Kristen said.
Caitlin said there was one key element in selecting Bradley over other choices.
“The small school atmosphere was an important factor in coming to Bradley,” Caitlin said. “The coaches that recruited us wanted us and we really liked them, so it was a good match.”
“The health science program, as well as Bradley having a physical therapy graduate program, were also important to us,” Kristen said.
Since their arrival at the Hilltop, the Busch twins have been nothing short of spectacular.
Kristen won the 5000 Meter-MVC Indoor Championship, the 5000-Meter MVC Outdoor title, and the 10000-Meter MVC Outdoor Championship twice.
She was All-Missouri Valley Conference in cross country in 2013 and 2014 and All-Missouri Valley Conference in track in 2014 and 2015.
Caitlin was the MVC cross country Athlete of the Year in 2014. She has won the MVC Indoor 5000-Meter Championship once, she was All-MVC Indoor in the 5000-meters and All-MVC Outdoor in the 5000 and 10000-meters.
They’re also no strangers to the MVC Scholar-Athletes of the week honor, as Caitlin has earned it twice and Kristen has earned it four times.
This season, the twins said they are combing their goals for one last hurrah as siblings.
“I think everyone has individual goals for sure,” Caitlin said. “We’re able to use those towards our team goals and everyone benefits.”
Kristen has a more sentimental approach.
“We’ve both had a good amount of success and achievements,” Kristin said. “It’s really cool that we get to experience it together.”
