ST. LOUIS – The 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship will be held this Saturday, October 27, at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Ill. hosted by Bradley University. Bradley’s women’s and men’s teams were voted as the pre-championship favorites in the coaches’ poll. The women’s team is looking for their second-straight title, fourth in five years, while the men are going for the fourth-consecutive victory. The women’s 5k race will start at 10:35 a.m. followed by the men’s 8k race at 11:35 a.m.

After winning the MVC Title a year ago, the Bradley women’s cross country team was picked unanimously to win the 2018 MVC Women’s Cross Country Championship (10 fpv, 100 points). In the latest USTFCCCA regional rankings, the Braves are ranked tenth in the Midwest Region. The Bradley women have claimed two second-place team finishes this season including at the Bradley Intercollegiate in September. Abby Jockisch, Gabby Juarez and Tyler Schwartz hold the fastest 6k times on the team, which are second, third and sixth in the league, respectively.

Picked by the coaches in second-place, Loyola had 86 points. The Ramblers hold four of the top-ten 5k times in the league including the fastest in Lindsey Brewis.  Brewis has earned Female Athlete of the Week honors three times this season and finished in the top-ten in each of her races. Mimi Reimers, Rita Maurais and Claire Hengesbaugh round out the top-ten times for Loyola. In the October 15 rankings, the Ramblers became ranked 14th in the Midwest Region.

Indiana State earned third-place with76 points. The Sycamores have been in the USTFCCCA’s regional rankings every week of the season with their latest ranking being 13th in the Great Lakes Region. Three of the top-ten fastest 5k times in the Missouri Valley Conference belong to Indiana State’s Brooke Moore (second-fastest), Alli Workman (seventh) and Jocelyn Quiles (eighth).

Northern Iowa swiped the fourth spot in the pre-championship poll with 68 points. The Panthers won the Bradley Intercollegiate in September with solid performances by McKayla Cole, Gabby Champion, Gabby Skopec and Alyssa Williams. In every race this season, three of the four women (Cole, Champion, Skopec and Williams) have been the first to cross the finish line for the team.

Illinois State came in a close fifth-place with 64 points. After the Joe Piane Invitational, the Redbirds have five of the top-20 times in The Valley at the 5k distance. Audrey Janik (fourth-best time), Rachel Hickey, Phoebe Clowser, Annie Moore and Kennidi Knoblock have set the pace for the team during the 2018 season.

Missouri State checks in at No. 6, having received 56 points. At the front of the pack for the Bears will be Grace Breiten and Jordyn Capra. Breiten has won MVC Female Athlete of the Week twice this year and ran the third-fastest 5k time in the Conference earlier this season.  Teammate Jordyn Capra (junior) has the sixth-fastest time in the league.

Southern Illinois notched the seventh spot with a total of 40 points. Megan Krolak paced the Salukis’ for the majority of the year as she was the first to cross the finish line for the team in her last three races. Olivia Murphy has the second-fastest 5k time for Southern Illinois and has been one of the first-two finishers for the squad three times in 2018.

Drake took eighth-place (30 points) while Valparaiso and Evansville finish out the final positions with 17 and 13 points, respectively.

The Bulldogs are finishing their season strong as their six-fastest 6k times came in their last meet of the season. Olivia Rogers, Rachel Selve and Mykaela Cole have consistently been in the front for Drake.

Valparaiso’s lead runners are Katherine Germann, Sarah Caesar and Sarah Messerschmidt. Germann and Caesar ran their season-best 5k times at Greater Louisville Classic. Evansville will look to Anna Lowry, Sienna Crews and Hannah Welsh who were the first finishers for the Purple Aces in every competition this season.



Bradley was the coaches’ pick for first in the men’s pre-championship poll with eight first-place votes and a total of 80 points. In their five meets in 2018, the Braves have finished first as a team in four. Bradley holds four of the top-ten times in the Missouri Valley Conference at the 8k distance. At the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, Haran Dunderdale and Jake Hoffert ran the third and fifth-fastest times, respectively. A few weeks later at the Bradley Pink Classic, Michael Ward claimed the sixth-best league time and Luke Hoffert took the ninth slot.

Illinois State had 71 points, claiming the second spot in the poll. Kyle Mattes, the third-place finisher from the 2017 MVC Cross Country Championship, currently holds the fastest 8k time in The Valley. Senior Cody Baele ran the eighth-best time in the Conference  the last time he was in Peoria for a regular-season race. In the October 15 USTFCCCA Midwest Regional rankings, the Redbirds were voted as ninth.

Indiana State checks in at the No. 3 position with 57 points. Akis Medrano was the first Sycamore finisher in three races, winning the Joe Piane Invitational.  Medrano earned MVC Male Athlete of the Week honors twice this season, being the only male to repeat as a winner. Nick Yeend and Ryan Cash have the second and third-best 8k times for Indiana State.

Drake sits at the fourth position, getting 54 points.  Maximilian Fridrich will look to earn All-Conference Honors for the second-consecutive year after his performance this season at the Roy Griak Invitational secured him the seventh-fastest 8k time in the Conference. Kevin Kelly and Kyle Brandt have the next best times for the Bulldogs and will look to make an impact at the 2018 MVC Championship.

Loyola and UNI were picked by the coaches in a tie for fifth-place, both earning 38 points, with Loyola receiving the last first-place vote.

Kevin White, Derek Rink and Kenny Wallace paced the Ramblers for a good portion of the season with Rink being the first Loyola finisher in three out of four events. 

Northern Iowa’s lead runners are Wal Khat, Ben Ahlrichs and Alex Jackson.  The trio have the three-fastest times for the Panthers with Khat’s time being in the top-15 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Southern Illinois and Valparaiso tied for seventh-place in the pre-championship poll, notching 29 points apiece.

The Salukis have two top-20 MVC performances in Josh Maier and Cain Hassim. In October, Maier won MVC Male Athlete of the Week honors with his time at the Nuttycombe Invitational that earned him the second-best 8k time in The Valley.

For the Crusaders, the front of the pack has had a similar look all season with Alexander Bruno leading the way followed closely by Ignacio Veloz Bonilla and Jackie Worman. Bruno sits at the tenth-fastest time in the MVC (8k).

Evansville finishes out the coaches’ poll in ninth-place and nine points. The Purple Aces’ fastest 8k times this season came in their last regular-season race. Stanley Chepchieng shaved almost 16-seconds off his personal record at the UE Invitational. Dawson Hood and Kalen Ochs also ran PRs at the end of the season.