IOWA CITY, Iowa - In their final meet before the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, the Braves recorded nine top-five finishes, including two event wins, at the Iowa Invitational Friday night. Senior Katie Nowak (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.) and freshman Nicole Benson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) paced Bradley with two top-five finishes each.
Sophomore Michelle Hartman (Savanna, Ill./Prince of Peace H.S.) earned Bradley's first event win in the 600-meter run, crossing the finish line with a season-best time of 1:38.65. Junior Leann Murphy (Rochester, Ill./Rochester H.S.) finished third with a time of 1:40.36, while Nowak was fourth in 1:40.91.
The Braves competed against themselves in the 800-meter run, placing all six of their runners in the top six. Junior Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.) won the race in 2:16.00, followed by Nowak (2:16.68), Benson (2:21.47), seniors Rachel Brubaker (2:25.98) and Shannon Seyller (2:27.41) and sophomore Sarah Hallstein (2:35.85). In the mile run, Benson earned a second-place finish with a time of 5:11.25.
Sophomore high jumpers Kourtnie Janson (Cambridge, Ill./Cambridge H.S.) and Lyndsey Cleghorn (Oswego, Ill./Oswego H.S.) also had excellent showings Friday night. Janson cleared a season-best height of 1.55-meters, while Cleghorn matched her season-best by clearing 1.50-meters.
Bradley will return to action Saturday, Feb. 27 at the MVC Indoor Championships in Cedar Falls, Iowa.