ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri Valley Conference announced its Runners of the Week on Monday, Sept. 1. Bradley swept the weekly honors with JD Rosslee and Kaitlyn Sheppard being recognized.



MEN'S RUNNER OF THE WEEK: JD Rosslee, Jr., Bradley (Albertson, Johannesburg, South Africa)
JD Rosslee, a junior from Alberton, Johannesburg, South Africa, placed first with a time of 17:23.5 in the men's 6K race at the Fighting Illini Open, hosted by the University of Illinois, on Friday, Aug. 29, at Orange and Blue Golf Course in Savoy, Illinois. Rosslee finished 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher and shattered his 6K career-best by roughly 38 seconds (18:01.3). This was the second time in Rosslee's career that he won a season-opening race, doing so for the first time since he took first place at the 2023 Western Illinois Alumni Invitational. Bradley finished in first place out of seven teams with 22 points, 39 points ahead of Illinois, the second-place finishers.
 
WOMEN'S RUNNER OF THE WEEK: Kaitlyn Sheppard, Sr., Bradley (Cheltenham, England)
Kaitlyn Sheppard, a senior from Cheltenham, England, placed first with a time of 13:08.0 in the women's 4K race at the Fighting Illini Open, hosted by the University of Illinois, on Friday, Aug. 29, at Orange and Blue Golf Course in Savoy, Illinois. Sheppard finished 10 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher and surpassed her 4K career-best by over one minute (14:13.4). Sheppard's victory marked the third-consecutive year a Bradley woman won a season-opening meet after Nadia Potgieter won the season-opening Western Illinois Alumni Invitational in 2023 and Hawkeye Invitational in 2024. Bradley finished in first place out of eight teams with 29 points, 33 points ahead of Indiana State, the second-place finishers.