The Bradley track team was back in action this past weekend competing at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana. Several Braves finished with top-10 times in school history and personal bests.
Bradley had six runners compete in the women’s 5000-meter run. Junior Abby Jockish, junior Gabby Juarez and senior Natalie Burant all finished with times under 18 minutes, but the star of the day for Bradley was freshman Tyler Schwartz. The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Freshman of the Year clocked a time of 17:23.25, the ninth-best in school history.
“[The race] felt pretty good,” Schwartz said. “It’s been pretty exciting and I’m excited to see what else I can do.”
In the men’s 5000, the Braves had four runners compete. Freshman Jack Franklin and sophomore Ben Wagoner led the Braves with times of 14:51.15 and 14:51.86, respectively.
Bradley men’s and women’s teams also ran the 3000-meter Junior Jake Hoffert was the top finisher for the men, with an impressive time of 8:11.15, good for the fifth-best in Bradley history.
In the women’s 3000, two Braves finished with personal bests. Freshman Ayah Aldadah clocked a time of 10:01.99 and sophomore Kirstin Oakley was right behind her at 10:08.63.
“We’ve had a very good recruit class the past couple of years, and Jack [Franklin] and our other freshman are starting to improve a lot,” Gauson said. “They’re going to be very important for us.”
Gauson said he’s looking forward to the Braves finishing strong in the Missouri Valley Conference once again, continuing the success from last year’s conference championship.
“You just try to get a little bit better every single year and we’ve been able to do that,” Gauson said. “This year, I hope, is no different.”
On Thursday, senior Michael Ward was voted as Bradley Athlete of the Month based on his performance on Jan. 26 at the Washington Invitational, when he broke his personal record in the men’s 3000.
Starting today, the track team will be split up to compete in the Iowa State Classic and the GVSU Big Meet in Michigan. In two weeks, the team will compete in the MVC Indoor Championships.
