By the end of March, the Hilltop will become dormant as it awaits the coming of a new basketball season. Little do people know, there is another team on campus that you shouldn’t sleep on.
The Bradley Women’s track team recently capped off a record-setting indoor track season, scoring the most points in the entire Missouri Valley Conference. Despite adding Loyola into the conference mix, Bradley remained on top, and set new school records.
Successful both on and off the track, junior Sarah McMahon earned the Elite 18 award, which is awarded to one student-athlete per sport. The award is given to the student with the highest GPA and the highest place in the race. She has received this award more than once.
Expectations stay high as move into the great outdoors. With the men’s track team still looking to grow their program, junior captain Eric Delvo stresses the importance of “pushing each other and making sure as many guys as possible reach the finals.”
As for the women, they strive for a larger goal of qualifying for the NCAA tournament. With Bradley’s schedule featuring meets at Vanderbilt, Stanford, and Walnut, California, coach Marc Burns said he knows these meets will be crucial in qualifying for the tournament.
The outdoor track season kicked off last weekend at the SIU Edwardsville Cougar Classic. Sophomore Kristin Busch won the women’s 1,500-meter and sophomore Emily Delvo won the 3,000-meter event. Although it was Delvo’s first time running the event, she clocked the sixth fastest time in school history.
On the men’s side, freshman Patrick Campbell finished second in the 3,000-meter event, and Eric Delvo took second in the 1,500 meter. The men’s team had a strong showing, with five of the top seven times in the 800-meter event.
With meets later this season at the University of Illinois and Illinois State University, juniors Eric and Emily Delvo hope students and faculty alike will make the trip.
The track squads will head to Nashville, Tenn. this weekend to participate in the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational. The Braves look to build off their strong performance from last weekend in Evansville.
