The Bradley men and women each won their third-straight Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship titles on Friday morning at the A.H. Blank Golf Course in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
Bradley placed five runners among the top seven finishers in the women’s 6K race, marking the ninth women’s team title in program history for the Braves. It marked the second-consecutive year that the Braves finished with fewer than 20 points, finishing with 19 – just four points off from matching their Valley record (15) set at least year’s championship. Illinois State finished second with 67 points, followed by Indiana State (83), Drake (119), Northern Iowa (160) and Belmont (162) in the top half of the field. UIC took seventh place with 204 total points, while Murray State (234) and Valparaiso (243) followed closely behind the Flames. Southern Illinois (278) and Evansville (285) closed out the women’s team standings.
 
Noelle Steines led the way for Bradley, covering the 6K course in 19:55.2, winning comfortably over teammate Trixie Wraith, who clocked in a second-place time of 20:13.9.
 
Illinois State’s Nora Brady finished third in a school-record time of 20:16.1, while defending champion Kaitlyn Sheppard of Bradley was fourth in 20:25.2. Drake's Chloe Glosser was the top freshman finisher in the meet, placing ninth in 20:32.8.
 
On the men’s side, it marked the first time a school has won three-consecutive Valley team championships since the Braves won five in a row from 2015-19. The Braves accumulated 23 points, followed by Illinois State (60), Drake (96) and Belmont (104). One point separately Northern Iowa (148) and Indiana State (149), while UIC (194) and Southern Illinois (201) finished seventh and eighth, respectively. Valparaiso (227), Evansville (281) and Murray State (301) rounded out the men’s 8K event.
 
The Braves had five runners among the top seven finishers, led by Jayde Rosslee, who defended his title with a season-best time of 20:03. Junior Travis Gaffney (23:52.6) led the next group of Bradley runners across the finish line, as the Braves captured spots four through seven.
 
Illinois State’s Julian Baker finished second with a time of 23:37.9 with Drake’s Daniel Rotich notching a third-place finish (23:46). Max Weber from Illinois State was the top freshman runner, finishing 12th in 24:09.5.
 
A full list of individual finishes, team results and award winners can be found on the league’s Championship Central page.