CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Bradley's distance medley relay team set a new school record and earned all-conference honors with a second-place finish at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Saturday.
The quartet of senior Katie Nowak (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.), sophomore Michelle Hartman (Savanna, Ill./Prince of Peace H.S.), junior Mary Goldkamp (Florissant, Mo./McCluer North H.S.) and freshman Nicole Benson (Peoria, Ill./Limestone H.S.) finished with a time of 11:55.21, less than five seconds behind first place Illinois State (11:50.58), and nearly 20 seconds faster than the team's previous season best (12:14.51).
Three more Braves also set season-best times Saturday, including sophomore Tatierra Bivens (Chicago, Ill./Marist H.S.) in the 60-meter dash (8.50), senior Rachel Brubaker (Davis, Ill./Durand H.S.) in the 800-meter run (2:24.42) and junior Lauren Fog (Harvard, Ill./Harvard H.S.) in the 3,000-meter run (10:32.90). Senior Erika Sepich (Canton, Ill./Canton H.S.) matched her 60-meter season best with a time of 8.37 seconds.
After the first day of competition, Southern Illinois leads the women's team standings with 40 points, while Bradley is eighth with eight points. The MVC Championships will continue Sunday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.
