Bradley’s cross country teams competed at the Notre Dame Invitational Oct. 3 against some of the top college teams in the country.
The women’s team fared best, finishing 10th out of 20 teams including three teams ranked in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association polls.
Caitlin Busch paced the Braves, clocking a 16:58:3 to finish 34th in the race, just over six seconds ahead of twin sister Kristen.
Senior Rosie Hiles, a Hampshire, England native, ran in her first race for the Braves and was the fourth-fastest Brave, finishing nine seconds behind Busch.
The competition may have been tougher on the men’s side, however. Ten of the top 25 teams in the country raced in the event, and the Braves would come home 19th out of 25 total teams.
Eric Delvo paced the men, finishing with a time of 24:16:2 to come home in 57th place. Senior Chase Coffey and sophomore Patrick Campbell finished 70th and 90th, respectively.
Rounding out the Braves’ top-five finishers was a pair of juniors who are not normally seen near the top of the leaderboard.
Cole Dill and Marshall Moyer both finished in the top 135, and while outsiders may have believed their performance was unexpected, head coach Willy Wood said he was not at all surprised.
“I think they ran very tough,” Wood said. “Our team got pinched off early on, so they had to work their way through the field the entire race. They maintained their composure, and they ran hard…It might be a surprise on the outside, but we were definitely expecting that from within.”
The team’s performance, while not a surprise to Wood, will benefit them as they prepare for the Pre-National Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana this weekend, which offers similar challenges to the Notre Dame Invitational.
“It might not be quite as deep in terms of ranked teams, but the top-ranked team on the men’s and women’s side will be there,” Wood said. “There’ll be numerous teams ranked in the top thirty. It’ll be a similar situation, I think. Hopefully, we’re just better prepared for it.”
The Braves “A-team” is also relying on the “B-team” for motivation, according to Wood.
“I think it’s critical that they do well because you’re going to have 19 runners at Indiana State eagerly waiting to hear the results,” Wood said. “We need something big to show everybody who’s going to be racing the next day that we’re making strides, that we’re improving greatly and that if their teammates just did this at the Bradley Classic, then we’re going to run significantly better.”
The Bradley Classic will be held later today at 3 p.m. at the Newman Golf Course. The Pre-National Invitational is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. on Oct. 18.
