It is championship season for cross country teams across the nation. Bradley will host the MVC championship meet on Saturday at Newman Golf Course.
The Braves have been preparing since last spring and look to sweep the field tomorrow. The men are attempting to win their fourth championship in a row and the women are looking to repeat as Valley champions.
Head coach Darren Gauson expects his team to perform well on their home course but realizes the teams coming to town are competitive and pose a challenge to his runners.
“It is expected that we win [the men’s race] because we have won three in a row, but we see something big every year,” Gauson said. “People are going to bring their A-game. Every year someone challenges us and I don’t think it will be different [this year].”
The men’s team is led on and off the course by redshirt senior Michael Ward who is responsible for the team’s pre-race speech. He said he wants to attack the field early and has his sights set on the top spot.
“Individually, I want to get up front and compete with the top boys and see if I can get that win,” Ward said.
Ward, now in his final season, reflected on how his mindset has not changed since his freshman season.
“It’s gone by really quick. [My mentality] is basically the same as I have gone to the others’ [meets],” Ward said. “We are kind of there with a target on our back and other teams want to get after us.”
The women also have a target on their backs. Bradley was picked first by coaches in the pre-meet poll narrowly edging out Loyola. This season, they have also been battling against Northern Iowa. UNI beat the Braves at Detweiller at the Bradley Invitational in September and Bradley edged out the Panthers on the Newman course at the Pink Classic.
“We have been going back and forth [this year] with the UNI women the last two conference championships,” Gauson said. “They are a good team. I think the Loyola women are really good as well.”
For the women to live up to the expectations, Gauson realizes the whole squad needs to place well.
“We need all eight of our girls to be on it and have a big run,” Gauson said. “We haven’t quite done that this year. I would like to see everyone be on form on the same day like we were last year when we went 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and put four in the top 10 and really dominated.”
Freshman Tyler Schwartz qualified for Nike Nationals in high school and is one of Gauson’s young stars. She has high expectations for her biggest collegiate race individually but expressed she has some nerves going into the race.
“It is pretty scary going in and not really knowing exactly what to expect,” Schwartz said. “I want to finish top ten individually.”
The women will look to repeat as champions in the 5,000-meter race tomorrow at 10:35 a.m. The men, backing up their reputation as the fourth best Midwest region team, will be running an 8,000-meter at 11:35 a.m. on Newman Golf Course.
