Bradley Classic
Fri., Oct. 14, 2011
Peoria, Ill.
The University of Northern Iowa men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Peoria, Ill., for the Bradley Classic on Fri., Oct. 14. The meet will be held at Newman Golf Course, with the women's 6k race starting at 4:20 p.m. and the men's 8k race at 5:00 p.m. The meet will serve as the final tune-up for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships on Oct. 30.
MVC Preview
The Bradley Classic could give a preview into the upcoming State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championships scheduled for Oct. 30 in Terre Haute, Ind. Six MVC schools are scheduled to compete in Peoria on Friday. They include: Bradley, Creighton, Drake, Illinois State, UNI and Wichita State.
Last Time Out
Junior Brett Egan led the men's team at the SDSU Classic in Brookings, S.D., on Oct. 1. Egan claimed a fourth-place finish in the men's 8k race, clocking a season-best time of 25:45.50 and helping the Panther men to a third-place finish as a team with 102 points. On the women's side, senior Jill Lageschulte led the UNI women to a fourth-place team finish. Lageschulte placed 17th overall with a 5k time of 18:39.80.
One Year Ago
Eighteen Panthers recorded personal-best times at the 2010 Bradley Classic. On the men's side, 10 out of 11 runners posted new personal bests in the 8k. Eight Panther women clocked personal bests in the 6k. The UNI men's team claimed fifth place out of the 21 teams competing in the event. The Panthers topped Missouri Valley Conference rivals Drake, Illinois State and Bradley. The UNI women placed 11th out of 20 teams.
Egan's The Leader
Junior Brett Egan has been the top finisher for the UNI men's cross country squad in each of the three meets in which he has competed this season. In 2010, Egan was the Panthers' No. 1 or No. 2 finisher in every meet, including an eighth-place, All-MVC showing at the Valley Championships.
Cutting Time
In the women's race at the Iowa Invitational (9/16), all five of the Panthers' top finishers posted times better than UNI's best individual performance at the 2010 version of the meet. On the men's side, Aaron Vosberg, Brendan Thompson, David Nielsen and Brady Fritz all improved their times from one year ago at the Iowa Invitational.
Lageschulte Honored by MVC
UNI senior Jill Lageschulte was named the Missouri Valley Conference women's cross country Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Oz Memorial on Sept. 9.
Lageschulte took 20th place in the 6k race hosted by the University of Minnesota, posting a time of 23:52.54 to lead the Panther women. Battling high temperatures, Lageschulte helped UNI to a second-place finish as a team, topping North Dakota State, South Dakota State and Drake among others.
Vosberg Claims Bulldog Classic Title
UNI senior Aaron Vosberg ran away with the men's individual title at the season-opening Bulldog Classic held in Des Moines on Sept. 2. Vosberg completed the 4k course in 12:41.22 to hold off the rest of the field by nearly seven seconds. He became the first Panther to claim a men's cross country individual title since Thibault Vandenabeele won the Bradley Classic on Oct. 16, 2009.
Freshmen Debuts
Of the eight freshmen on the UNI women's team, four made their collegiate debuts at the Bulldog Classic on Sept. 2. Alex Wilson (Lisbon, Iowa/Mount Vernon-Lisbon) was the top finisher among the freshmen, taking 11th place overall with a 4k time of 15:51.64. Brittany Bunger (Jesup, Iowa/Jesup) placed 22nd, Haley Stevens (Denver, Iowa/Denver) took 23rd and Shelby Curtis (Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle) finished 28th.
On the men's side, two freshmen saw their first action at the Bulldog Classic. Tanner Reyhons (Waterloo, Iowa/Cedar Falls) was the No. 4 finisher for the Panthers, taking 15th place overall with a 4k time of 13:09.40. Terry Nielsen (Cedar Falls, Iowa/NU High) placed 21st in 13:18.45.
Academic Prowess
The UNI women's cross country team was recognized in May by the NCAA for its latest multi-year Academic Progress Rate (APR) score. The Panthers posted a multi-year APR score in the top 10 percent of all squads in women's cross country.
In addition, Brett Egan was named the inaugural recipient of the Missouri Valley Conference Elite 18 Award as the top scholar-athlete in men's cross country. The 2010 All-MVC Performer was also named to the league's Scholar-Athlete Team.
