In a busy weekend for Bradley’s track-and-field team, the Braves flew out to Azusa Pacific University, bringing a trio of sophomores to the Bryan Clay Invitational in southern California on April 14.
Meanwhile, the majority of the team participated in the Redbird Challenge, hosted by Illinois State on April 16.
On the West Coast, Bradley raced two runners in the womens’ 800 meters at Azusa Pacific: sophomores Wilma Nielsen (2:05.47, 18th place) and Tiana LoStracco (2:07.09, 30th place). In the womens’ 5,000 meters, sophomore Sophia McDonnell broke her previous personal record by more than 22 seconds, running a 16:59.92.
The following day, LoStracco was the lone Bradley athlete competing in the Mt. Sac Relays held at Mt. San Antonio College. Although Nielsen qualified, head coach Darren Gauson explained why she sat out of the 800 meters.
“After Wilma [ran] 2:05 at Azusa Pacific, that put her 20th in the nation, so we were pretty happy with her mark,” Gauson said. “Instead of racing her again, we just decided to rest her.”
For the athletes not competing on the West Coast, the Braves’ trip to Normal, Illinois for the Redbird Classic was a success. In total, 13 personal bests were recorded on April 16.
One of the personal bests was a school record, which came from freshman Shae Fuller in the women’s triple jump. After setting the school’s indoor triple jump record earlier this season, Fuller further etched her name in Bradley athletics history in her first-ever collegiate outdoor meet. Her jump was measured at 36 feet and 8.25 inches, surpassing Laura Wagy’s mark of 35 feet, 7.25 inches, which stood since 1986.
After acknowledging that plenty of personal bests have forced her to set new goals, Fuller hopes to reach 39 to 40 feet by the end of the season.
Fuller additionally noted that in her home state of Florida, the weather allowed for a year-round outdoor season, perhaps contributing to her quick indoor-to-outdoor adjustment on the collegiate level.
“Outdoors, there was a lot more wind but I’m more of an outdoor person anyways, so it wasn’t that bad,” Fuller said when comparing the two atmospheres.
Alongside Fuller, twelve other personal best performances were recorded. On the women’s side, it began with sophomore Sierra Bryant’s shot put (35 feet, 3.75 inches), and in the javelin event, sophomores Kyra Koontz (103 feet, 3 inches) and Kelsey Dalton (56 feet, 2 inches) continued the trend.
In the women’s 100 meters, freshman T’ya Suber (12.25), Koontz (12.30) and Fuller (12.86) achieved personal bests, and the same was true for freshmen Alice Narciso (2:19.94), Amiyah Davis (2:21.44) and Andriana Erotocritou (2:31.96) in the 800 meters. Junior Hannah Ivy set a new PR in the 200 meters and the duo of redshirt freshman Olivia Hobbs and true freshman Maya Henderson did the same in the 1,500 meters.
In the mens’ races, the lone personal best belonged to freshman Brandon Kamp, who won his heat in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 9:43.09. Sophomore Will Smith took home first place finish in the men’s 800 meters with a mark of 1:54.86.
Reflecting on the weekend’s success, associate head coach Fabia McDonald claimed that more personal bests signify that the Braves are progressing nicely.
“I’ve been here three years, and in those three years our recruiting has been stellar, we’ve got some really competitive athletes in, academically and athletically,” McDonald said. “As we’ve grown, [the athletes] have started to find their inner soldier, their inner warrior. They’re taking risks every week, getting better and tapping into the vision that Coach Gauson and I have, which creates a very competitive team.”
Next up for Bradley is a short trip to Champaign, Illinois, where the team will compete in the Illini Invitational today and tomorrow.
