SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drake University men's and women's cross country teams turned in solid team and individual performances at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship, Saturday morning in Springfield, Mo.
 
The men's team recorded a fifth-place finish in the team standings behind a fifth-place performance from freshman Maximilian Fridrich (Salzburg, Austria). In his first MVC Championship, Fridrich completed the 8-kilometer course in 25:00.09 to finish fifth in the 70-runner field and earn All-MVC and MVC Freshman of the Year honors. The Bulldogs' fifth-place finish was the team's best finish since the 2012 MVC Championship.
 
The women's squad finished eighth in the team race with senior Bailee Cofer (Overland Park, Kan.) completing the 5-kilometer course in 17:59.4 to finish 15^th and earn All-MVC honorable mention honors.
 
The men's team had two other runners finish in the top 20 with Kyle Brandt (Maple Grove, Ill.) coming in 18^th in 25:47.7 followed by Matt Cozine (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) in 19^th in 25:49.5.
 
The young women's team had the majority of its runners finish in the middle of the pack with Morgan Garcia (Marion, Iowa), Olivia Rogers (Centennial, Colo) and Elizabeth Aho (Grayslake, Ill.) finishing in 39th, 46th and 51st, respectively.
 
Bradley won both men's and women's team titles while Loyola's Lindsey Brewis won the women's race and Bradley's Jake Hoffert took top honors in the men's race.
 
The Bulldogs continue their season Nov. 10 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in Ames, Iowa.
 
2017 MVC Cross Country Championship
Oct. 28 – Springfield, Mo.
 
Men's Team Results
1. Bradley, 49
2. Indiana State, 49
3. Illinois State, 88
4. Loyola, 93
5. Drake, 103
6. SIU, 136
7. UNI, 161
8. Valparaiso, 247
9. Evansville, 276
 
Drake Individual Men's Results
8k – 70 runners
5. Maximilian Fridrich, 25:00.9
18. Kyle Brandt, 25:47.7
19. Matt Cozine, 25:49.5
26. Kyle Cass, 25:57.1
35. Josh Yeager, 26:24.9
45. Chris Kaminski, 26:43.0
59. Joe Romain
 
Women's Team Results
1. Bradley, 34
2. UNI, 55
3. Loyola, 91
4. Indiana State, 114
5. Illinois State, 121
6. Missouri State, 127
7. SIU, 194
8. Drake, 197
9. Valparaiso, 284
10. Evansville, 297
 
Drake Individual Women's Results
5k – 78 runners
15. Bailee Cofer, 17:59.4
39. Morgan Garcia, 18:50.1
46. Olivia Rogers, 19:07.2
51. Elizabeth Aho, 19:13.9
52. Millie Bretl, 19:14.5
58. Mykaela Cole, 19:29.3
60. Rachel Selva, 19:33.5
63. Meghan Kearney, 19:54.9