Competing at the MVC Indoor Championship in Chicago, Bradley track and field came back from the Windy City with seven individual championships and finished in the top half of the league on both sides.
After the fact, Bradley also was honored with a pair of conference honors to add to the haul.
Headlining the Braves’ top performers was sophomore Nicola Jansen, who was able to score 20 of the team’s 84 points. Her time of 9:22.20 in the women’s 3000 meters and time of 16:06.69 in the women’s 5000 meters allowed her to claim two championships. Both finishes broke MVC meet records.
After both squads were picked to finish fourth in the conference’s pre-meet poll, the women’s squad was able to reach the bar while the men placed one spot below.
Senior George Watson also had an incredible performance that earned him a pair of championships. Watson placed first in the men’s 3000 meters with a time of 8.11.81 and met his lofty expectations with a 5000 meters time of 14:11.63.
Sophomore Wilma Nielsen dominated the 800 meters, as she ran a 2:09.66, which not only was less than a second ahead of her sister Julia, but also won the MVC and sent her to Albuquerque, New Mexico for the NCAA Nationals next weekend. Additionally, Nielsen was selected as the MVC’s Women’s Most Outstanding Performer of the indoor season.
Freshman Peyton Schippe came in third place in the women’s 3000 meters at 9:30.57, just under eight seconds under her first-place teammate Jansen. Schippe also joined the winning women’s distance medley relay (DMR) team that ran 11:36.77 and she was named MVC’s Freshman of the Year for the indoor season.
In the women’s DMR final, Amiyah Davis, Tiana LoStracco, Julia Nielsen and Schippe were nearly 13 seconds ahead of second place-finishing Illinois State.
LoStracco also barely edged out Illinois State’s Rachel Hickey in order to grab the win in the mile run, clocking in a time of 4:56.36.
On Monday, sophomore Eli Rieker won the men’s 200 meters with a time of 22.11 seconds that broke the school record.
As Wilma Nielsen prepares for the NCAA Nationals in New Mexico on March 10 and 11, Bradley will take a break before beginning the outdoor season.
