LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University cross country teams are bracing for their final meet of the regular season as the Knights will compete Friday afternoon in the Bradley Pink Classic.

The meet will unfold at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Illinois. Bellarmine will have harriers competing in all four races (two White and two Red), with the first taking off at 2:30 p.m. (ET).

For the Knights, the women's races extend to a 6k from the usual 5k while the men's events remain their customary 8k.

The Bradley Pink Classic represents the final meet before the ASUN Championship, which takes place Oct. 29 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Alabama.

"The last race before conference championships is always a good proving ground," Coach Chase Broughton said. "That being said, it's never the main focus. We look at each race as an opportunity to improve as individuals and as a team. If each athlete does what's best for the team on Friday, the results and times will take care of themselves."

Indeed, the Bellarmine squads will look to deliver sound performances as momentum-building lead-ins to the ASUN Championship. One way of doing that is to avoid thinking too much about the conference meet and zeroing in on the current challenge.

"In our sport, it's very important to be locked in and focused on the task at hand," Broughton said. "It's easy to look ahead at what's to come later in the season, but if you aren't fully engaged on race day, your performance can suffer. Our teams have learned that firsthand from previous years." 

The Knights are coming off encouraging outings at the Oct. 1 Live in Lou Classic at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park. Five men — sophomores Nolan Hester, Paul Stamm, Jackson Gawarecki and D.K. Schnieders and senior Nick Lewis — posted all-time top-25 performances in the 8k.

Senior Emma Wells clocked an all-time top-40 performance in the 5k on the women's side. Senior Ellie Schroeder cracked the top 20 of the program's performance list (measures PR).

The Live in Louisville Classic and the preceding North Alabama Showcase both contained an immense field of teams. The Bradley Pink Classic will follow that pattern.

"This meet is very similar size-wise to the two races that have preceded it," Broughton said. "Each race will feature about 35 teams, including some regionally ranked teams. It will be a great final tune-up before the ASUN Championships." 

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