This season has been a season full of debuts for Bradley cross country.
The one debut that sticks out the most is that of new cross country coach Darren Gauson, who is four races in as the new head coach.
“It was definitely a big transition going from coaching in Texas to Bradley,” Gauson said. “I believe we have a great team and a great staff, so that has helped make it a nice transition.”
Following successful seasons from both the men and women, expectations are very high for Gauson to continue the upward trend.
“Last season, we won conference on the women’s level and placed third on the men’s level,” Gauson said. “We hope to improve and stay healthy so that the outcome takes care of itself.”
At the Notre Dame Invitational Oct. 2, the men’s team took 14th out of 20, and the girls team took ninth. Despite both levels finishing outside the top five, Gauson finds reason to believe that the team could excel on their home turf at the Bradley Classic, as well as Pre-Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky tomorrow.
“[Today], we have great competition,” Gauson said. “We’re facing teams from the Big 10, strong programs such as Oregon State and Missouri, as well as teams from the Missouri Valley Conference. The field is strong, which is going to make for a very nice meet.”
Ultimately, the goal for both teams is to win the conference and to place in the top 8 at regionals. This goal should be attainable with Gauson’s upperclassmen leading the way.
“On the girl’s team, Kristen Busch and Caitlin Busch are the front runners,” Gauson said. “ They are very talented and hard working. When people work hard like they do, they stay injury free.”
On the men’s side, Gauson said a few leaders lie in runners who aren’t seniors.
“As for the boys side, I would say our vocal leader is junior Caleb Beck,” Gauson said. “Two guys that lead by example are Pat Campbell and Michael Ward. Caleb is more organizational so he does a great job.”
Overall, the future for the team is bright, but that will be tested this weekend.
“I see good things out of this team,” redshirt freshman Luke Hoffert said. “The freshman team is a good class we have coming up. This years team seems pretty good, I think our team is heading for conference championship. For the future, we have a good redshirt team coming up.”
Both men’s and women’s teams compete at the Bradley Classic this weekend, which will be held at the Newman Golf Course in Peoria and begins at 3 p.m today.
