After a second-place finish by both the men’s and women’s teams at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, the only thing standing in the way of an NCAA Championship berth for the Bradley Braves cross-country teams is the NCAA Regionals today.
The NCAA Midwest Regional will be held in Iowa City, Iowa at Ashton Cross-Country Course — home of Iowa’s teams. The Braves would advance to the NCAA Championship on Nov. 20 if they finish first or second as a team. Bradley could still advance to the Championship if they are selected for one of 13 available at-large bids.
Both Braves teams had a chance to see and run the course earlier this season when they participated in the Hawkeye Invite on Sept. 3.
At the Invite, the women finished sixth as a team with a score of 190. The Braves were led by junior Sophia McDonnell, who finished sixth out of 121 runners in the 4K run with a time of 14:12.8. Sophomore Ashley Maguire finished 12th with a time of 14:23.7.
The men finished in eighth place as a team with a total score of 163. Sophomore Noah Costa led the team, finishing 20th in the 6K race with a time of 19:15.3. Freshman Mickey Vreeland finished 29th with a time of 19:29.8.
Looking back to the MVC Championship two weeks ago, both Bradley teams finished second. Freshman Nicola Jansen led the way for the women with a third-place finish, continuing her strong bid from MVC Freshman of the Year. Senior Alec Danner finished fifth at the MVC Championship and led the way for the men. Both Jansen and Danner had one of their best runs at the meet and will be runners to watch for at the NCAA Regionals.
The NCAA Regionals starts today at 11 a.m. in Iowa City for both teams. If Bradley were to have teams or individual runners advance, the NCAA Championships will be held in Tallahassee, Florida at Apalachee Regional Park on Nov. 20.
