AMES, Iowa - After winning the distance medley relay Friday, the Bradley women's track & field team earned nine top-10 finishes and set 11 season-best times at the final day of the Cyclone Open at Iowa State's Lied Recreation Center Saturday. Freshman Nicole Benson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) led the Braves with two top-three finishes and established season-best times in both the mile and the 1,000-meter run.
Sophomore Michelle Hartman (Savanna, Ill./Prince of Peace H.S.) set the tone for the Braves Saturday, recording a season-best time of 1:28.65 and finishing fourth in the 600-yard run. In the mile run, Benson crossed the finish line in third with a time of 5:01.50. Senior Tracy Lotter (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago H.S.) and sophomore Rachel Garrett (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) also set season-best times in the mile run. Lotter finished 12th in 5:29.75, followed by Garrett in 19th at 5:47.98.
Lotter continued her success in the 800-meter run, setting a season-best time of 2:31.01, good enough for 16th place. Junior Lauren Fog (Harvard, Ill./Harvard H.S.) shaved nearly 30 seconds off her 3,000-meter season-best time, crossing the finish line in sixth at 10:32.95.
For the second straight meet, Bradley dominated the 1,000-meter run, placing four runners in the top-10. The Braves swept the top-three spots with junior Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.), Benson and senior Katie Nowak (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.), while senior Shannon Seyller (Harvard, Ill./Harvard H.S.) finished tenth. All four runners established new season-best times in the 1,000-meter.
Bradley's 4x400-meter relay team of Leann Murphy (Rochester, Ill./Rochester H.S.), Goldkamp, Benson and Hartman also claimed a top-10 finish Saturday. The quartet took sixth in 4:04.57, knocking nearly seven seconds off their previous season-best. In the high jump, sophomore Lyndsey Cleghorn (Oswego, Ill./Oswego H.S.) tied for third by clearing a distance of 1.50-meters.
The Braves will return to Ames, Iowa to compete in the ISU Open next Friday, Feb. 12.
