He may be just a freshman, but Michael Ward is already putting together an impressive track record.
For the second consecutive meet, Ward broke a track and field record, this time in the 3,000 meter event. Ward’s time of 8:10.22 shattered the previous mark, held by senior Eric Delvo, by 12 seconds.
Although it could be hard to notice just by looking at his time, Ward said he did not start the race as fast as you would think.
“I basically started off very conservative,” Ward said. “I started off towards the back of the pack and then towards the second half of the race one of the coaches was like ‘Now is the time to make some big moves.’ So I began to work my way up the field and unfortunately a few guys broke away earlier on and I wasn’t able to catch them. I ended up fifth overall, so I’m pretty happy with it.”
Ward’s performance highlighted a successful weekend for Bradley’s track and field teams in Iowa and Indiana.
The men’s track and field team overall ran extremely well in the Iowa State Classic’s 3,000 meter race, with sophomores Caleb Beck and Daniel Gagne along with freshman Haran Dunderdale posting times that ranked in the top seven in Bradley history.
The women’s team also ran well in Iowa, with junior Rosie Hiles finishing the 3,000 meter race in less than ten minutes, becoming the sixth Brave ever to do that.
The Iowa State race consisted of freshmen and sophomores who ran well for the Braves, something head coach Willy Wood was expecting.
“They’re running much more than they’ve ever ran before, and I think they’re finally getting their legs underneath them,” Wood said. “They’re getting more confident. That meet was so good for us, but it’s just the start of things to come. We’re going to get significantly better.”
Also in Iowa, junior Caitlin Busch became the fourth Brave to break 17 minutes in the 5,000 meter race, missing out on her sister’s school record by five seconds. Kristen Busch also raced in the 5K, finishing 29th.
Wood liked how Caitlin Busch ran her race, and he noted she did an excellent job not deviating from the game plan.
“She ran phenomenally well,” Wood said. “She ran a very even pace, she was within a second every lap she ran. She stuck to the race plan perfectly and it was a great race for her.
Wood also commented on how well Ward ran, despite being a freshman.
“Well, number one, he’s just really good,” Wood said. “We knew coming in he was going to have a big impact on this program. He’s got a good mindset and he’s just born really fast. It’s good to see him running fast, but he’s capable of way, way more.”
Other Braves ran fast too, including sophomore Thomas Razo, who ran a 1:56.35 in the 800 meters, good for the fourth-fastest time in Bradley history.
The Braves have two more races this weekend, the Orange and Blue Invitational in Champaign and the Alex Wilson Invitational in Notre Dame, Indiana. Wood said the team will use one of these races to prepare for the Missouri Valley Indoor Championships, which will be held held Feb. 28 and March 1 in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
“For everyone going to Illinois, it’s just going to be a tune-up before the conference meet,” Wood said. “We’re going to enter them in an event where we feel like they need the most work. For Notre Dame, we’ll probably take a few people because it’s a great opportunity to run fast.”
