With a new coach at the helm, Bradley cross country hoped to start their 2023 campaign off strong. They did exactly that at the Western Illinois Alumni Invitational on Sept. 1, winning both the men’s and women’s races.
On the men’s side, freshman Jayde Rosslee posted a meet best of 18:08.5 in his first ever collegiate race. Three more Braves eclipsed the top five, including senior Michael Rebello (second place), sophomore Caleb Lind (third place) and freshman Oliver Burns (fifth place).
All 14 of Bradley’s men’s runners finished in the top half of the meet, and flooded the leaderboard with 11 of the top 12 finishes. It was an outstanding 6K race all around for the men’s side as they finished 30 points ahead of second place Western Illinois.
The women had a similarly good opening day, as they came out on top in the 4K race. The Braves outpaced the competition, securing the top three finishes. Sophomore Nadia Potgieter (13:54.0), senior Ashley Maguire (13:55.8) and sophomore Trixie Wraith (14:02.0) finished first, second and third, respectively.
Six of the top seven finishers on the women’s side were Braves. Each Bradley women’s runner finished at and above 16th place out of the 38 competitors. Ciara Thornley led the way for the freshman, finishing sixth with a time of 14:51.3.
The women’s team ran away from the competition, securing 17 points in total to beat Western Illinois and Northern Illinois, who finished the invitational tied for second place. This was the first time since 2014 that both the men’s and women’s teams won titles at Western Illinois to start a season.
The Bradley Intercollegiate is next on the horizon for the Braves. It will be hosted at Detweiller Park on Sept. 15.
