The men’s and women’s track teams saw success in splitting the team across three meets last weekend with personal records and impressive finishes.
The men were led by freshman Jake Hoffert, who finished 17th overall in the 5,000m run with a time of 14:12.61 at the San Francisco State Distance Carnival. Hoffert’s finish earned him the second-best performance by a Bradley runner in school history, behind junior Michael Ward.
“I was surprised to be that high on the all-time list,” Hoffert said. “It isn’t something I had on my mind, but it is nice to have that honor.” Hoffert said his main goal is to continue to improve his times and run and NCAA Regional qualifying time.
Hoffert was closely followed by senior Patrick Campbell, junior Daniel Gagne and junior Taylor Floyd Mews. Campbell, Gagne and Floyd Mews recorded the third, fifth and sixth-best times, respectively, in school history in the event.
“We are establishing a lot of depth,” head coach Darren Gauson said. “That group has really done a good job.”
Ward did not have an ideal finish at the Stanford Invitational as he was set back by food poisoning and windy conditions to finish the 5,000m run with a time of 14:34.27.
“It wasn’t his best day,” Gauson said. “We were hoping he would reduce his school record of 13:54.”
Sophomore David Shadid continued his successful season by placing third in the 400m at the EIU Big Blue Classic with a time of 48.36.
“He will be close to being an NCAA qualifier,” Gauson said. “We will look for him to score again outdoors.”
On the women’s side, junior Hannah Witczak finished her 5,000m run in 13th with a time of 16:50.20 in San Francisco. The finish was a 40-second improvement on Witczak’s previous personal record in the event.
“She had a really good run, good PR performance for her,” Gauson said. “She is leading the conference in the 5,000m.”
Senior Rachel Sudbury clocked a time of 4:32.53 in the 1,500m run at the windy Stanford Invitational. Gauson said he was pleased with Sudbury’s performance despite the 30 mile-per-hour gusts.
The Braves are in action on Saturday in Normal for the Redbird Invitational, but will rest several athletes for their trip to California next week.
