After a great showing at the Gladstein Invitational Jan. 22 and 23 in Bloomington, Indiana, the Bradley men’s and women’s track and field teams are making the trip to Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, for the Meyo Invitational. Both teams will be competing Friday and Saturday.
There will be a number of Big Ten, Big Twelve and Mid-American Conference schools present at this invitational. In addition, other schools from the Missouri Valley Conference such as Illinois State, Wichita State and Loyola (Chicago) will be attending.
Head coach Darren Gauson said he has high hopes his team will improve on their overall team success.
“Our expectations for this meet is for the athletes to compete and perform similar to how they did at Bloomington,” Gauson said. “Breaking records was very rewarding for the athletes, as it shows that hard work pays off. We just want to compete and move up the conference standings as a team.”
Seniors Caitlin and Kristen Busch will be highlighting the 3,000-meter run at the Meyo Invitational. Even though the Busch twins said they are excited to compete, they will be just as excited to watch the rest of their teammates compete.
“I am expecting even more school records and personal bests to be hit this weekend from our team, as the competition is huge at this meet,” Caitlin said.
Her twin sister, Kristen, said she was also optimistic about the upcoming meet as well.
“We have had two weeks of hard training and no races since Gladstein, so our team is looking forward to having a great weekend,” Kristen said.
In addition to the Busch twins, fifth-year seniors Chase Coffey and Sarah McMahon will also be competing in the 5000-meter race, as both are looking to build upon great showings at the Gladstein Invitational.
“Going into the meet, I’d say my goal is to get out and win another race,” Coffey said. “It had been quite a while since I was healthy, so this indoor season is all about building confidence for a big showing outdoors. I just need to put myself up front in every race and let the times show after.”
The players said they were ready to face teams from bigger conferences.
“Meyo will be a bit more competitive,” McMahon said. “Notre Dame has a large, 320-meter indoor track, and I know that I will have a shot at possibly breaking my personal record.”
