The Bradley men’s track and field team opened their outdoor season this past Saturday at Southern Illinois’ Bill Cornell Spring Classic. The Braves began this season with a strong start, with three individual titles taken home as well as 19 top-10 finishes.
Senior Haran Dunderdale, sophomore Alec Hartman and freshman Evan Mitchell claimed the individual titles and now have some momentum to take off with in future meets. The BU men used this first outdoor meet as a warm-up, and they are eager to continue on.
“It was nice to kind of get the opener out of the way,” Dunderdale said. “For a lot of the team, this is to prepare for next week. A lot of people did off-events to prepare well for the upcoming week.”
Dunderdale came close to breaking his personal best by 0.16 seconds, running a time of 3:48.48 in the 1,500 meter, in which he had also claimed his individual crown.
Dunderdale used this as a learning experience and is excited about what he can do this season.
“I didn’t realize that until afterwards,” Dunderdale said. “It was kind of cool, because we haven’t focused on the 1,500 meters as much as we have in the past. So being so close to my PR, without focusing on it, means I’m already there in that discipline without focusing on it. It’s good signs for event time.”
Mitchell came out of SIU with his very first collegiate individual title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase clocking in a time of 9:50.15. With this being his first time running in the outdoor season at Bradley, it was impressive that he pulled off such a solid run.
“It was a big confident booster, it was fun,” Mitchell said. “The time wasn’t great, but it was a big confidence booster and something to build off of. It was something to keep trying at.”
This first meet showed how well he can keep up with those who are more experienced while also giving him experience of his own.
“I’m primarily just focusing on the steeple individually,” Mitchell said. “I registered indoors and just haven’t raced in a while, so it was really, really weird feeling.”
Hartman did his job leading a group of five other Braves in the 800-meter run. Hartman had finished in first, while Scott Seymour, David Shadid, Ben Potrykus, Nick Porter and Simon Paige closely followed taking the third through seventh spots.
The Braves showed that they were more than ready to get this outdoor season underway putting up such impressive numbers, and this was noticed by head coach Darren Gauson.
“I was excited that the weather was good,” Gauson said. “Normally when we go to that meet, it’s usually 38-40 degrees. This year, it was sunny and 60. That’s what you want for your first outdoor meet. The performances and the weather feed off of each other. We were able to turn that good weather into some really good performances. We really dominated the 800.”
Not only were the BU men eager for the season to start up, but also to bring their A-game everywhere they go. Gauson also mentioned one meet they are particularly excited about.
“NC State, we’re taking a lot of our top athletes there,” Gauson said. “So that’ll be a big one. Any time we’re going on the plane, we’re trying to get a lot done. If we can go three-for-three in seasons, that would be a challenge. It’s one we’re fit and ready for.”
Results:https://bradleybraves.com/documents/2019/3/23//finalBillCornell.pdf
The Braves’ next meet will be in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday.