After a record-breaking indoor track and field season, the Braves are starting the outdoor portion of their campaign with visits to North Carolina and Missouri.
The Braves split paths, with one group of 21 athletes headed to North Carolina for the Raleigh Relays and another to the Billiken Invitational in St. Louis.
The last time the Braves participated at the Raleigh Relays was back in 2019, when program records were set, including former Brave Michael Ward’s record for the men’s 10,000-meters.
The three-day competition started on March 24 and ends on the 26 at the Dail Soccer Field/Track Complex.
On the other hand, the Billiken Invitational is a one-day event in St. Louis on March 25, where Bradley had a few top-10 finishes and broke the 4×100 women’s relay record last year.
“We’re going to see a lot of school records set — more top times, more people qualifying for the NCAA competition,” head coach Darren Gauson said.
The Braves will be looking to keep good indoor momentum going after their strong showing at the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference Championships. Both of Bradley’s teams finished fourth, with the women setting a new program record by scoring 70 team points.
The highlight for both teams came when freshman Michael Rebello and Nicola Jansen swept the men’s and women’s 3000-meter and 5000-meter race titles.
After a three-week hiatus, rustiness is bound to set into any team, but Gauson looks at the bright side of things knowing that his team is healthy.
“Having race after race really keeps you sharp and ready, so we’re hoping no one is too rusty,” Gauson said. “We’re really healthy right now, so hopefully we can keep that going and get our athletes ready to roll this season.”
Some familiar faces from the indoor season will be coming back, including Nicola Jansen, Michael Rebello and sophomores Julia Nielsen and Sophia McDonnell.
Bradley also has a returning athlete in Wilma Nielsen, as she was competing at a European competition taking bronze in the process.
Approximately 150 men’s and women’s teams will compete in the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State, with schools coming from the Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Bradley will compete in 16 events including men’s and women’s 5,000-meter and women’s 200-meter.
The squad heading to the Billiken Invitational will participate in 14 events, including the women’s 1,500-meters and men’s 400-meters.
“We had seven NCAA qualifiers last year, so our goal is to have the most national qualifiers we have ever had and get to double digits,” Gauson said.
Each day of the Raleigh Relays will include a 2-hour coverage on ACC Network Extra, available on ESPN+.
