PEORIA, Ill. – The Bradley men's cross country team had the top six individuals within one second of each other and the Bradley women boasted 10 of the top 11 as the teams swept the team and individual titles at the 29th Bradley Intercollegiate Friday afternoon at Detweiller Park.\
The day got started on a strong note with the Bradley men's team claiming the top six individuals in the 8K race. Junior Caleb Beck was the top finisher, crossing the line with a career-best time of 25:04.0 to claim top honors, with five other Braves were within one second of his time.
Sophomore Taylor Floyd Mews took 35 seconds off his career-best time at 25:04.1 to finish second, while junior Mike Bianchina and junior Patrick Campbell matched Floyd Mews' time of 25:04.1. The time was a career-best for Bianchina. Sophomore Michael Ward was fifth overall at 25:04.2, while senior Marshall Moyer crossed the line in eighth (25:04.7).
Individually on the women's side, the twin sister pairing of Caitlin Busch and Kristen Busch pulled away from the field to tie for honors in the three-mile race with times of 16:49.8. The duo shaved 20 seconds off their times from last year's Bradley Intercollegiate to claim the top spots in the field for the second straight year.
The Busch twins were out ahead of a big pack of Braves with senior Rosie Hiles following in third at 17:10.2. Senior Rachel Sudbury clocked a career-best time of 17:16.0 to finish fourth overall. Freshman Abby Jockisch was sixth in the field at 17:25.7 in her first collegiate race and junior Lauren Cunningham took nearly 20 seconds off her three-mile time with an effort of 17:33.0 to place seventh in the field.
The meet was scored as duals for NCAA Division I teams, with both the Bradley men's and women's teams sweeping the matchups with Chicago State, Evansville and Western Illinois.
Morton College won the team title on the men's side among the non-Division I schools competing with 41 points to top second-place finisher Illinois Central College (48 points). Augustana claimed top spot in the women's field among non-Division I teams with 19 points, while Lincoln College followed in second at 52.
The Bradley men's and women's cross country teams will have a week off before returning to action Friday, Sept. 25 when they host the Bradley Invitational at Donovan Park (3 p.m.).
