It was a good weekend for junior George Watson and the Bradley track and field team at the UW Invitational hosted by the University of Washington on Jan. 28-29.
Watson almost made school history in the men’s 5,000-meter race. Chase Coffey, a 2016 Bradley graduate, still holds the record of 14:11.14, but Watson fell just short of that record when he finished fourth in the race with a time of 14:13.36.
Watson couldn’t help but laugh and smile in response concerning his near-record-breaking race.
“I have to be honest, I had my eyes on the school record,” Watson said. “I knew it was within reach, but I did not quite manage to get it. I was aware it was up for grabs, but next time might be it.”
Watson mentioned how he felt an added sense of pressure of wanting to run well after traveling that far for the race. Head coach Darren Gauson was pleased with Watson’s effort.
“Overall, it was a very good weekend,” Gauson said. “George tied the third-best time in school history with a 14:13 and number one in the Missouri Valley Conference. It was really good to see.”
This was the fourth indoor meet of the season for the Braves and they have a few more tournaments before the Missouri Valley Conference Championship.
The Braves battled against high-powered teams and saw a lot of great competition in their trip to Washington.
“It was a little bit better,” Gauson said. “With a lot of Pac-12 schools like BYU, Oregon State, Washington, and taking eight of our best athletes that are first, second or third in the Missouri Valley in their respective events, it was a good opportunity to get good competition against great programs and great schools.”
Sophomore Sophia McDonnell finished sixth in the women’s 5,000-meter race with a time of 16:43.69. Junior Tyler Schwartz was also in the race for the Braves and she finished with a personal best time of 17:07.96, putting her in a 12th place finish.
Freshman Amiyah Davis and junior Hannah Ivy both finished inside the top 10 of the women’s 400-meter dash. Davis finished with a time of 56.58 while Ivy finished with a time of 57.42.
The Braves are back in action this Friday and Saturday in South Bend, Indiana for the Meyo Invitational hosted by Notre Dame.
