Last weekend, Bradley track and field athletes competed in the Eagle Elite Invitational, David Hemery Valentine Invitational and Grand Valley State Big Meet.
At the Eagle Elite Invitational, fifth-year senior Jack Crull set a new men’s mile record for the program, crossing the finish line in three minutes, 55.93 seconds, improving his record by 1.27 seconds. Freshman Travis Gaffney placed seventh out of 13 finishers in the men’s 3000-meter race, finishing at just over eight minutes and 14 seconds.
“I knew there were a lot of good people in my race, and it was also being paced around 3:53 to 3:54,” Crull said. “I wasn’t the fastest guy in the race, of course, but it was a really fun experience. It was super fun just being with everyone there.”
On the women’s side, junior Trixie Wraith headlined Bradley’s mile run. Wraith finished in 17th with a time of 4:43.14. Alongside her was graduate senior Abigail Hancock, who finished the race 0.32 seconds after Wraith, placing 19th. In the women’s 3000-meter race, junior Kaitlyn Sheppard took 16th place and finished in 9:27.52.
About seven minutes east, the David Hemery Valentine Invitational took place on Boston University’s campus, where Bradley had stupendous performances. Sophomore Jayde Rosslee broke another record this weekend, finishing the men’s 5000-meter race in 13:48.32, which placed him 54th out of the 212 competitors who crossed the finish line.
The women’s side featured Hancock finishing 31st in the women’s 800-meter race with a time of 2:08.27. Sheppard also competed in the mile run and finished 49th with an impressive time of 4:43.29.
The rest of Bradley’s athletes were in Michigan, competing at the GVSU Big Meet. The women showed out with senior Amiyah Davis not only placing 10th in the women’s 200 but also getting second in the women’s 400, finishing in 24.83 and 54.47 seconds, respectively.
Freshman Carolina Martinez finished right behind her in the women’s 400, crossing the finish line just over a minute after Davis.
“I honestly was not expecting to run the times that I ran, so I was very happy with that,” Davis said. “Everyone ran so well at that meet too, so the vibes were just great.”
The men were also on a roll, with sophomore Jaxson Copelin placing second in the men’s 800 with a time of 1:48.68. Sophomore Kaden Kingsmith finished the event in just under a minute and 50 seconds, taking fifth place.
“I thought we competed well across the board everywhere we were,” head coach Andrew Carlson said. “Oftentimes, you have split squads, so with the size of our staff, they’re off on an adventure where they don’t have their primary coach there. I thought everyone did such a fantastic job stepping up.”
With the indoor track season going into crunch time, the team understands the importance of being able to set records like this now more than ever.
“Ultimately, our goal can’t be to win as a team, but the way it’s set up is that the things we do, we want to do at the highest level,” Carlson said. “So when we go to an MVC meet, our intentions are set on if we’re in the 400, we want to win the 400, and in the 800, we want to win the 800.”
“I think it’s very important for people to set these goals for themselves and then to be getting them so close to conference is really nice,” Davis said. “Because it’s like we’re setting ourselves up for success, basically.”
The Braves will travel to South Bend, Indiana, on Saturday, and their relay teams hope to clinch a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Crull, who will be part of the men’s team, explained what they hope to accomplish this weekend.
“All we need to do is really focus on our main goal, which is trying to make nationals with our DMR,” Crull said. “Over time, schools have been getting faster, so we have to run faster, too. But with our group we have, I think we do have a shot to make it to nationals.”
