After a successful indoor season, the Braves track team will be starting its outdoor season today in St. Louis at the Billiken Invitational tournament.
This season, the Braves have recruited more freshmen track athletes in Mason Jones, Kyra Koontz, Reina McMillan, T’ya Suber and the Nielsen sisters. This, along with the hiring of assistant coach Fabia McDonald last year, has demonstrated Bradley’s desire to be more competitive on track and in shorter distances.
The indoor season, which saw both the men’s and women’s teams improve their score totals from last year, was a reflection of that effort. The women’s team recorded its highest point total in school history with 58 points while the men scored 51 points this weekend.
Collectively, the Braves won both men’s and women’s distance medley relays while scoring top-five times in school history. Junior Charlie Parrish and freshman Julia Nielsen both finished on the top spot in the 3,000m and 800m, respectively.
“I liked a lot, especially the women getting the highest point total in school history,” head coach Darren Gauson said about the team’s indoor championship. “Overall, from a really young team, that was a really good performance, and the future looks super bright.”
Freshman Wilma Nielsen finished second behind her twin sister, Julia, in the 800m but took home MVC Freshman of the Year honors after scoring a rookie-high 16 points over the weekend.
“It was a very fun meet; everyone did so well,” Wilma Nielsen said. “I was not as happy about my race in the 800m, but I got Freshman of the Year, so that made up for it.”
The indoor season was tough on Bradley’s long-distance runners, who were competing in the cross-country season at the same time. Just three days after the indoor conference championship, the Braves were competing in the cross-country championship.
The Braves will now be able to focus on one sport and capitalize on their youth and depth with more active runners during preparation meets. During its indoor season, Gauson preserved some seniors Alec Hartmann and McKenzie Altmayer for the cross-country championship.
Since then, the team’s mindset has turned toward getting prepared for the outdoor season in the team’s practices since the end of the cross-country season. The early meets will be a stepping stone for a Braves team that is eager to get back on track, according to Gauson. The Joe Walker Invitational in Ole Miss on April 9 and 10 will be a real test of the team’s capacities.
“This weekend, we will start running people in distances they do not normally do,” Gauson said. “We will run 5,000m in 1,500; 800m in 4x400m just to get back on track and [get] used to competing again.”
Despite the team’s youth, its goals remain high. Individually and collectively, Gauson and Bradley’s runners have high expectations for themselves and for the team.
“I want to qualify for regionals and also nationals,” Wilma Nielsen said. “It’s a good team; I think many people will perform and will get top places in the conference, and hopefully regionals, too.”
“We have really high goals and aspirations; our expectation is to win and they are not happy about second,” Gauson said. “Our bar is really high; once we start accepting second and not thinking at a national level is when we are going to end up getting third or fourth.”
Bradley will be a team to watch in the future with regional and national aspirations for track and cross country. With the slew of recruits already started and that is set to come in next year, the future looks bright for Gauson and the Braves.
