Three members of the Bradley men’s track team headed to Seattle to compete in the 2019 Washington Invitational this past weekend. Senior Michael Ward broke the school record in the 3,000-meter run, which he set himself at the same meet last year.
Ward completed his record-breaking run in 7:57.88, finishing first in his heat of 11 runners.
“It is always nice to get a win and to top it off with a [personal record] is just a huge confidence boost,” Ward said. “I am happy with how I performed overall.”
He broke his previous school record of 7:58.64 and now holds the second-fastest time in Missouri Valley Conference history. Only Illinois State’s Julian Mwangi holds a better time of 7:55.40, set in 1999.
Bradley head coach Darren Gauson was impressed with Ward’s run and hopes he can continue to do just as well at the Iowa State Classic next week.
“[The Washington Invitational is] one of the bigger competitions in the NCAA, and [Ward’s run was] a school record,” Gauson said. “It just shows his hard work and maturity and advancement over the years.”
Ward is now ranked 17th nationally and needs to break into the top-16 to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. He was also honored with the Missouri Valley Conference Male Track Athlete of the Week on Tuesday for his performance.
“[The team] went out to Washington to try and see if we could get a qualifying time for Indoor Nationals,” Ward said. “Unfortunately, that time won’t be quick enough. So with that respect it’s a little frustrating, however, you have to run the race in front of you and I am happy with how I performed overall.”
Gauson reiterated how important finishing in the top-16 is for the team and mentioned that Ward would be flying back to Great Britain to interview for dental schools.
“Indoor Nationals are in March and the top-16 advances to the National Championship,” Gauson said. “[Ward’s] got a great chance and looked really good on the weekend. I’m hoping his flying back to Britain won’t take too much time.”
Senior Haran Dunderdale and sophomore Alec Hartman also competed in the mile run and 800-meter run on Saturday, respectively.
Dunderdale ran the mile with a time of 4:04.27, improving his mile personal record by nearly a second. Hartman finished the 800-meter in 1:51.04, which was right behind his own school record time of 1:50.32, set at the Meyo Invitational last season.
Ward, Dunderdale and Hartman are being given a week off and will return to action next Friday at the Iowa State Classic. The rest of the Braves will be competing at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana today.
