PEORIA, Ill. - The Bradley men's and women's cross country programs combined for one of the finest Missouri Valley Conference Championship performances in school history on a wet and muddy Saturday at Newman Golf Course. In the men's 8K championship, the Braves earned their best finish since 1989, taking fifth with 142 points. Led by all-conference performers Nicole Benson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) and Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.), the women's team placed third in the 5K championship with 93 points, their best conference finish since 2002. It also marked the first time both squads finished in the upper half of the final team standings in the same year.
Benson paced the Braves in the women's race and crossed the finish line in second-place with a time of 18:40. A late surge allowed Goldkamp to pass Wichita State's Leah Thompson for fifth in 18:57. Freshman Emily Gustafson (East Peoria, Ill./East Peoria H.S.) missed all-conference honors by just five seconds, finishing 11th with a time of 19:19. Seniors Amanda Switzer (Machesney Park, Ill./Harlem H.S.) and Tracy Lotter (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago H.S.) capped Bradley's scoring with 27th and 50th-place finishes, respectively.
On the men's side, the Braves stuck together throughout the race and finished as a pack. Freshman Jon Richards (Streator, Ill./Streator H.S.) took 27th with a time of 27:48. Bradley's next four scorers, juniors Andrew Wieser (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central H.S.) and Billy Miller (Metamora, Ill./Illinois Central/Metamora H.S.) and seniors Pat Greene (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield South H.S.) and Nathan Ahart (Chesterfield, Mo./Parkway Central H.S.), all finished within 10 seconds of Richards. Wieser placed 29th in 27:54, followed by Greene (31st, 27:57), Ahart (32nd, 27:58) and Miller (33rd, 27:58).
Indiana State finished with five runners in the top-10 to claim the men's team championship. The Sycamores edged Southern Illinois by one point, 32-33, and ended the Salukis' hopes for a third-straight team title. Illinois State's Scott Krapf crossed the finish line first in the men's race with a time of 25:47. Krapf finished 17 seconds ahead of two-time defending MVC champion Jeff Schirmer of Southern Illinois.
Wichita State earned its fifth-consecutive MVC women's team title and finished with three runners in the top-10. Terry Phillips from Missouri State claimed the women's individual championship, clocking a time of 18:32.
The Braves will travel to Springfield, Mo., to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday, Nov. 14. Missouri State will host the event, which features 33 Division I teams from nine different states.
