Although the focus has shifted to the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Bradley’s track and field team took care of business at the Illini Classic, the final competition before the most anticipated meet of the indoor season.
The Braves brought 12 athletes to compete in Champaign in a meet hosted by the University of Illinois on Feb. 18.
Freshman Shae Fuller stole the show, setting a school record of 11.17 meters in the women’s triple jump,placing third overall in the event.
“It feels great, I’ve been in triple jump for a while and now I’m happy I’m getting somewhere with it,” Fuller said. “It feels really good to have the school record here at Bradley.”
Standout sophomore Tianna LoStracco won her heat in the women’s 800 meter run with a time of 2:13.91 and fellow sophomore T’Ya Suber did the same in the 200 meters, crossing the line at 25.72 seconds.
Other notable performances by the Braves included sophomore Kelsey Dalton placing fourth in the women’s 60 meter dash prelims (7.96) and seventh in the event’s final round (8.06). Dalton also notched a seventh place finish in the women’s 200 meter at 26.85 while sophomore Sierra Bryant 27.85 came in 11th in the same race. Sophomore Olivia Harp was the lone Brave in the women’s mile, finishing in ninth place with a mark of 5:22.16.
On the men’s side, senior Matt Aho’s second place finish in the men’s mile, which clocked in at 4:19.17, was accompanied by freshmen Mickey Vreeland (4:28.15) and Brandon Kamp (4:34.74) both placing in the top 10.
“It was a meet where we had a couple of people going to go to the conference meet that needed some marks, like Shae with her school record in the triple jump and Tianna LoCastro winning that 800,” head coach Darren Gauson said. “We didn’t run too many people, it was more of one final tuneup before the MVC Championship. For the people that we did take, it was successful.”
Previewing the MVC Championship meet on Feb. 27 and 28, Gauson highlighted some key races — both on an individual and team level – that may determine Bradley’s fate this coming weekend.
“George Watson is ranked number one in the 5K, he’s also in the top three in the 3000. Nicola Jansen is ranked number one in the 5K and the 3K. Shae’s events are important, Amiyah Davis is key, as well as [sophomore] Sophia McDonnell and [sophomore] Julia Nielsen,” Gauson said. “We’ve got a lot of individuals that can make an impact in the MVC Championship.”
Gauson said that two events that are crucial to the squad’s success are the women’s 3K, where Bradley has three of the top eight runners in the MVC, and the men’s 5K, which includes five Braves in the top seven of the conference.
On a team level, the Braves are anticipated to finish in the middle of the pack. Gauson’s goals and expectations reflect this, while also addressing all the obstacles that have been surmounted this season.
“We’d be pretty happy with fourth or fifth place on the women’s side,” Gauson said. “On the men’s side, having a couple of injuries, as well as COVID, took a couple of people out and we’re just getting people back from that.Taking fifth or sixth on the men’s side would be solid.”
