PEORIA, Ill. -- The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships will return to Peoria, Ill., highlighting the 2009 cross country teams schedules. The Braves will be running on familiar ground in three of six meets before the NCAA Regional in Springfield, Mo., on Nov. 14.
Bradley head coach David Beauchem, who is entering his 16th year as the Braves cross country head coach, hopes for a repeat from the last time BU served as host of the MVC Cross Country Championships in 1998. That year the Bradley women's cross country team went on to earn a share of the MVC Championship, tying Drake with 76 points, to claim the first MVC women's team championship in school history.
The Braves will open the season Sept. 4 at Western Illinois, before returning home for the first of three home events. Detweiller Park will serve as the site for the 24th annual Bradley Open on Friday, Sept. 11. Bradley will compete at Missouri State on Saturday, September 19, in what will likely serve as a preview of the NCAA Midwest Regional and will also run at SIU Edwardsville on Oct. 10.
A strong contingent of Missouri Valley Conference squads are anticipated to help make up the field for the sixth annual Bradley Classic, which will be held Friday, Oct. 16 at Newman Golf Course in the Braves final competition before the MVC Championship.
The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship is slated for Saturday, Oct. 31 at Newman Golf Course beginning at 10:30 a.m. Bradley has also hosted the MVC Cross Country Championships in 1988, 1989 and 1998 and joins Drake as the only school to have hosted three times or more over the last 23 years.
“We are very excited to host the 2009 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship,” Beauchem said. “This continues a long standing relationship with the Peoria Park District and the Illinois Valley Striders in putting championship Cross Country meets in Peoria, Ill. Having red-shirted all of our seniors last year, we look forward to a very competitive season from both our men's and women's cross country teams in 2009.”
Senior Katie Nowak (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) highlights a women's team which includes seven seniors and five juniors. A First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete in 2007, Nowak paced the Braves with a 19th place finish at the 2007 MVC Championship prior to redshirting last fall. Adding to the depth on the women's side will be another redshirt in freshman Nicole Benson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone). Benson was the 2007 Class AA State Champion at Limestone High School.
On the men's side, junior Brian Tyne (Polo, Ill./Polo) headlines a group which includes the Braves top four finishers from last season's MVC Championship. Seniors Nathan Ahart (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central) and Pat Greene (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South) both redshirted last season and are the only seniors on the roster, which also includes five juniors. Ahart finished 34th at the State Farm MVC Championship in 2007.
