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Braves pick up two top-3 finishes in track and field

The track and field team continues to excel in the mid-distance events this season, notching several top-10 finishes at the UNI Invite in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this past weekend.
Junior Katie Nowak, who broke Bradley’s school record for the indoor mile at last weekend’s Iowa State Invite, opted to compete in the 800-meter run for the Braves this weekend. 
It was the first time all season Bradley had competed in that event and Nowak, provided a strong initial result, finishing third with a time of 2 minutes and 13.99 seconds. It is the third event this season in which she owns Bradley’s top time.
In the 1,000-meter run, Bradley got a third place finish out of sophomore Mary Goldkamp, who finished the event with a time of 3:04.80. The Braves also had the fourth place finisher in sophomore Leann Murphy, who finished less than two-tenths of a second  behind Goldkamp with a time of 3:04.95.
Also competing in the event for the Braves was junior Shannon Seyller, whose time of 3:16:18 was good enough for an 11th place finish.
Coach David Beauchem was very candid on the subject of the team’s mid-distance success.
“I think the mid-distance group is a little ahead of the other groups,” he said. “It has been very difficult for the distance runners and sprinters to get their training in regularly because of the weather.”
Bradley didn’t provide too many results in distance events this weekend, yet they did grab 10th and 11th place finishes in the mile run.
Junior Tracy Lotter took 10th with a time of 5:21.79, and sophomore Marlana Haefelin finished right behind her in 11th with a time of 5:24.21.
Junior Erika Sepich and senior Amanda Harm were Bradley’s top sprinters during the weekend, competing in the 60 and 200-meter dashes, and 60-meter hurdles, respectively.
Sepich finished the 60-meter dash in a time of 8.40 seconds, which placed her 17th in the event and was a personal best for the season. She also took Bradley’s top time in the 200-meter, finishing 27th with a time of 28.24 seconds.
Harms was 15th in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 10.30 seconds.
The Braves only competed in one relay event during the weekend, the 4-by-400-meter. The team, consisting of Nowak, freshman Michelle Hartman, Murphy and Goldkamp ran the race in a time of 4:09.45, which garnered a ninth place finish.
Overall, Beauchem said he was pleased with the performance he got out of some of his team, but does see room for improvement.
“I was very pleased with the people who have been making improvements,” he said. “This was the first meet where we had some people perform flat. Hopefully the weather will change soon and our training will pick back up.”
The Braves return to action today, at the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind.
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