PDF - FULL RELEASE

ST. LOUIS – ST. LOUIS – The Bradley men and women have been selected as the 2019 favorites by a vote of Missouri Valley Conference cross country coaches in their annual preseason poll. The Bradley men will compete for their fifth-consecutive title while the women will try for their third-straight and fifth championship in six years. For the third-time in league history, the MVC Cross Country Championship will be aired on The Valley on ESPN.

The Bradley men were a unanimous pick for first-place earning a total of 81 points. The Braves return four of the top-seven from a squad that took second-place at the NCAA Midwest Regional, qualifying for the NCAA Championship for the first time in school history and the first Valley school to earn a team appearance since 2000. Jake and Luke Hoffert return for their senior season after Jake earned MVC All-Conference honors at the 2018 MVC Cross Country Championship and Luke earned MVC All-Conference Honorable Mention as well as being the second Valley finisher at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

Drake was picked second in the coaches’ poll earning 61 points. The Bulldogs had their highest team finish at the 2018 MVC Cross Country Championship since 2011, finishing third. Matt Cozine, Maximilian Fridrich and Kyle Brandt were three of Drake’s top-four finishers a year ago, all crossing the finish line at the MVC Championship in the top-25. Adding depth to the roster for Drake will be seniors Xavier Lechleitner and Kyle Cass.

Illinois State came in third-place with a total of 57 points. The Redbirds will be led by Jack Anstey (junior), Kimathi Johnson (senior) and Kevin Koski (senior). Anstey had a strong showing during the 2019 Indoor & Outdoor Track & Field season while Johnson and Koski were the third and fourth Illinois State finishers, respectively, at the 2018 MVC Cross Country Championship.  The team welcomes three newcomers that could make an impact.

Indiana State notched the No. 4 spot in the coaches poll, tallying 54 points. The Sycamores lost their top-two runners but will have more depth this year. Leadership for the young team will come from redshirt senior Kyle Cash while Nick Yeend, Noah Hugnagel and Cale Kilian will add experience after competing in the 2018 MVC Cross Country Championship. Yeend, a sophomore, is the top-returning finisher from last year’s fourth-place team.
Loyola came in fifth-place with 46 points. The Ramblers return every runner from their 2018 team, with redshirt senior Kevin White as the top-returner. Coming back for their sophomore campaign, Stephen Pipilas and Akhil Ghosh will compete for the top-spot in 2019. Adding depth to the team will be Riley Demeulenaere and Derek Rink.

Securing sixth-place and 38 points is Valparaiso. The Crusaders welcome back four of their top-seven athletes including Alexander Bruno, Dominic Paoletti, Ignacio Veloz and Jack Worman. Bruno was the top-finisher for the team at the 2018 MVC Cross Country Championship while Paoletti was the fifth Valley finisher at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

Only one point back in the poll is Northern Iowa, securing seventh-place and 37 points. Leading the Panthers will be Wal Khat who finished in eighth-place a year ago, earning MVC All-Conference First Team honors. Also returning will be CJ May and Drake Henrichs. Henrichs was the first Panther to cross the finish line at the NCAA Regional in 2018.

Southern Illinois was chosen eighth with 22 points and Evansville rounds out the men’s poll in ninth with nine points.

The Salukis return their second thru fifth finishers in Cain Hassim, Theo Hassim, Jacob DeWitt and Reid Parsons. Coming back from a redshirt season is Chris Edwards who will make an impact.

Evansville has seven of their eight runners from the Conference Championship back and adds three newcomers who could challenge for a top-spot. Junior Stanley Chepchieng will once again be the lead runner for the Purple Aces.



After winning the MVC Women’s Cross Country Championship for the third-straight year and returning four of their top-five, Bradley was picked to win with eight first-place votes and 98 points. The duo of Gabby Juarez and Tyler Schwartz finished first and second, respectively, for the Braves at the MVC Championship as well as the NCAA Midwest Regional.  Juarez took third-place at the MVC Meet while Schwartz came in fourth, both earning MVC All-Conference First Team honors. Adding depth to the team will be McKenzie Altmayer who redshirted a season ago and graduate student Aisling Joyce.

Illinois State earned 86 points and the remaining two first-place votes. The Redbirds return three of their top-five including Rachel Hickey and Kennidi Knoblock. Hickey finished in eighth-place at the MVC Championship last year (All-Conference First Team) while Knoblock took 13th, earning All-Conference Honorable Mention. Back for the 2019 season will be Grace Beattie who redshirted in 2018. Illinois State also adds four strong newcomers that are capable of challenging for the top-times.

Loyola was tabbed as a close third-place as they received 84 points. The Ramblers will have great depth this season as they return six of the athletes that competed in the MVC Championship a year ago. Claire Hengesbaugh and Mimi Reimers will lead the way after Hengesbaugh finished sixth and Reimers seventh at last year’s Championship. At the NCAA Midwest Regional, Reimers was the fourth MVC runner to cross the finish line.

Picked as fourth-place is Indiana State with a total of 65 points. Leading the Sycamores will be Brooke Moore who finished in second-place at the Conference Championship and was the first Valley finisher at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional in 2018. Adding depth to the squad will be Alli Workman (senior) and Jocelyn Quiles (sophomore).  Workman earned All-Valley Honorable Mention a year ago while also being the second Sycamore to cross the finish line at the Great Lakes Regional.

Missouri State came in fifth-place earning 60 points. The Bears return their first-six finishers from last year’s Conference Championship.  Leading the way will be junior Grace Breiten who came in fifth-place a year ago, earning All-MVC First Team. Helping provide experience will be seniors Erica Wollmering, Paityn Howat and Jordyn Capra.

UNI is picked sixth with a total of 53 points as they welcome back McKayla Cole, Gabby Champion and Tess Roorda. The junior trio finished in the top-25 at the 2018 MVC Women’s Cross Country Championship with Cole earning All-Conference Honorable Mention status.

Southern Illinois notched the No. 7 spot in the coaches poll, tallying 44 points. The Salukis will have a young team with Megan Krolak and Kayla Schiera leading the way. Krolak and Schiera were the top-two finishers for Southern Illinois a year ago and will be looking to break into the top-10 after having finished 11th and 20th in 2018, respectively.

Drake was chosen eighth with 27 points, while Valparaiso earned ninth having 20 points and Evansville rounded out the poll in tenth (13 points).

Drake will have lots of experience on the team and will be anchored by their top-returners Olivia Rogers (senior), Rachel Selva (junior), Mykaela Cole (senior), Millie Bretl (junior) and Elizabeth Aho (junior).

Valparaiso returns everyone from the Valley Championship in 2018.  The Crusaders top competitors will be Katherine Germann, Sarah Ceasar and Taylor Justison.

Five of Evansville’s eight Conference competitors are back with Hannah Lowry, Hannah Welsh and Haylee Harmeyer leading the team. The Purple Aces welcome three newcomers who have a chance to make an immediate difference.