Senior Kristen Busch broke her own 6K record to finish sixth overall and help pace the Bradley women’s cross country team to a sixth-place team finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
“Our goal was to try to be top-5 and beat some of those nationally ranked teams, but we came just a bit shy of that,” head coach Darren Gauson said. “We had an injury leading up to the race: Rosie Hiles, who was our number three in conference, didn’t run, which was a tough hit for us, but other people stepped up and finishing sixth without her was still an accomplishment.”
Busch turned in the top individual finish by a Bradley runner since Mary Ellen Hill placed second in 1998 and joined Hill as the only other runner to finish top-10 in an NCAA regional. Busch was later chosen as an at-large participant to run in the NCAA Championship this week.
Busch, who is the first MVC female runner to earn a spot in the NCAA Cross Country Championship since 2012, is the first Bradley runner to compete in the NCAA Cross Country Championship since Hill did in 1999.
“It speaks highly of Kristen’s work ethic and her commitment to the process over the last three months and even the last three years,” Gauson said. “She finished outside of the top-100 as a freshman and to see her get to this point is incredible.”
A two-time United States Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Region performer in cross country, Busch earned honorable mention All-America status in the 10000-meters during the 2014 outdoor track season. The four-time MVC champion has run at the NCAA Track & Field West Preliminary each of the past two springs and garnered a total of 10 All-MVC honors heading into her final track season.
Two-time MVC Athlete of the Year senior Caitlin Busch missed out on all-regional honors by less than one-and-a-half second, crossing the line in 26th place. Senior Sarah McMahon was 53rd overall and freshman Gabby Juarez rounded out the team scoring for Bradley coming in at 86th.
“Sarah, who was our number six in conference, stepped up and ran as our number three,” Gauson said. “Caitlin was a little bit off her best and didn’t quite finish where she would’ve liked, but it happens.”
On the men’s side, sophomore Michael Ward finished 28th and was one of three Braves in the top 38 to help pace the Bradley team to a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional.
“I thought we could run well at the Regional meet, but our main goal this year was to win conference, and we did that,” Gauson said. “We’re a young team and we are setting up nicely to win multiple conference championships down the road and then competing in the NCAA races.”
Ward turned in the best individual finish at the NCAA Regional by a Bradley runner since Matt McCormick took 19th in 1986, and the Braves had three individuals in the top-40 in the field for the first time in program history.
Following behind Ward was junior Patrick Campbell, who was 34th overall, and was sophomore Taylor Floyd Mews, who finished 38th in the field. All three runners ran career-best times for the Braves.
“Winning is contagious,” Gauson said. “All of our young men and women this year got a taste of what it’s like, and we have a great foundation moving forward. The future is exciting.”
