Bradley University Track & Field Recruiting Class of 2025
Bradley University Track and Field Recruiting 2025
Bradley University has officially welcomed its 2025 Track & Field recruiting class, a group of athletes who bring speed, strength, and depth across multiple events. The Braves continue to build momentum in the Missouri Valley Conference, and this incoming class reflects a clear commitment to developing versatile competitors who can contribute immediately.
Who’s Joining the Braves in 2025?
Julia Brown | Sprints | Oak Park, Illinois | Oak Park-River Forest
Julia Brown joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Brown capped off her four-year career as one of the top 400m runners in Illinois, finishing in second place in the Girls 3A Outdoor 400m Final at the Illinois State Championship this past May. Brown ran 54.51 in the championship, the second-fastest time in the IHSA in 2025. She was also a part of a 4x100m Relay team from Oak Park-River Forest that placed sixth at the IHSA State Championships, earning all-state honors.
Christian Harris | Distance | Morton, Illinois | Morton
Christian Harris joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Harris is coming off a third-place finish in the Boys 2A Outdoor 1600m Final at the Illinois State Championships in May. Harris was also a two-time Mid-Illini Conference Champion, winning the three-mile cross-country title in October 2024 and an outdoor track & field conference championship in the Boys' 1600m in May 2025, finishing nine seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
FTR ALUM **Sawyer LeBlanc | Distance | Newfoundland, Canada | Gonzaga H.S.
Sawyer LeBlanc joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. LeBlanc most recently won the Ontario Track & Field Outdoor Championship in the 3000m with a personal-best time of 8:25.72, achieved this past July. LeBlanc adds the Ontario Championship to his impressive Canadian Track & Field resume. LeBlanc also won two Canadian Indoor 3000m Championships and a Canadian Indoor 1500m championship in his prep career. He holds a personal best of 3:48.71 in 1500m. Indoors, Sawyer clocked 4:10.37 for the full Mile. **
David Locke | Middle Distance | Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly, Wales | Loughborough University/Penn State
David Locke joins Bradley as a graduate transfer entering the 2025-26 season. Locke's 800m personal best is 1:46.41, a time ranking in the top 10 in Welsh Track & Field history. In 2025, Locke's season-best of 1:47.47 came at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
Nathan Miller | Sprints/Hurdles | Center Point, Iowa | Center-Point Urbana
Nathan Miller joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Miller joins after a sensational senior season capped off with four titles won at the Iowa Outdoor Track & Field State Championships. Miller won the 400m and 400m Hurdles championships individually, setting new personal records in each event. He was also the anchor man on Center-Point Urbana's 4x400m and 800m Sprint Medley Relay championship-winning teams. Miller set new personal bests in the 400m (47.88) and 400m Hurdles (51.04) IHSAA State Championship races.
Landon Pogue | Distance | Hillsboro, Missouri | Hillsboro
Landon Pogue joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. In Pogue's junior season, he finished 10th at the Missouri Class 4 State Cross Country 5K Championship in 2023 and eighth in the 3200m Final at the Missouri Class 4 Outdoor Track & Field State Championships.
Ayva Rush | Sprints | Vienna, Illinois | Vienna
Ayva Rush joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Rush qualified for the 2025 IHSA 1A Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 200m and 400m events after winning her sectional race. She also qualified for the 400m IHSA 1A Outdoor State Championship in 2024. She set new personal bests in the 200m (26.85) and 400m (1:00.25), both of which were set at the Bluford (Webber) Class 1A TRG Sectional in 2025.
Michael Schmalz | Distance | Ontario, Canada | Notre Dame Catholic Secondary
Michael Schmalz joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. In 2025, Schmalz earned a third-place finish in the 800m Final at the 2025 Ontario Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Schmalz's bronze medal earned him another podium finish in Ontario Track & Field, adding to his bronze in the 800m Final at the 2024 Ontario Outdoor Track & Field Championships and silver in the 3000m OFSAA Championship in 2023. Schmalz also holds an eighth-place finish in OFSAA in 2023. Schmalz holds an 800m personal best of 1:53.10 and a 1500m personal best of 3:53.80.
Wiepke Schoeman | Distance | Gauteng, South Africa | Hoërskool Zwartkop
Wiepke Schoeman joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Schoeman is a three-time South African Champion, having earned track & field, cross-country, and road racing championships throughout her athletic career. Schoeman has also qualified for the World Cross Country Championships twice. In 2025, she finished third in both the 3000m and 5000m Finals at the South African U20 Championships in Cape Town. Schoeman holds personal bests of 4:30.84 (1500m) and 9:48.45 (3000m).
Noelle Steines | Distance | Tipton, Iowa | Tipton
Noelle Steines joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Steines amassed 14 Iowa State Championships in her four-year career at Calamus-Wheatland and Tipton High School, closing with four in her senior outdoor track & field season at Tipton. Steines won IHSAA 2A titles in the 800m, 1500m, and 3000m events individually and added a 1600m Sprint Medley Relay title. Steines holds personal bests of 2:11.49 (800m), 4:35.19 (1500m), and 9:53.95 (3000m), all of which came at the 2025 IHSAA Outdoor State Championships.
Jacob Trangmar | Distance | Fordham, England | Hills Road Sixth Form College
Jacob Trangmar joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Trangmar is the Anglian Schools Cross Country Champion, finished fourth at the English Schools Cross Country Championships and placed in the top 10 at the Leeds XC Challenge. Trangmar has a personal best of 8:33.60 in 3000m, 3:54.12 (1500m), and 14:38 at 5000m.
Bente Van Milligen | Middle Distance | Apeldoorn, Netherlands | Veluws College Walterbosch
Bente Van Milligen joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. In June, Van Milligen finished second in the 800m Final at the ASICS Dutch U20 Championships. She also had a silver medal in the 800m Final at the 2024 Dutch U18 Indoor Championships and a bronze medal in the 800m Final at the 2023 event. Van Milligen holds a personal best of 2:09.89 in 800m and 4:35.31 in 1500m.
Lindsey Wenz | Middle Distance | Plainfield, Illinois | Plainfield North
Lindsey Wenz joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Wenz qualified for the 2025 Illinois 3A Outdoor State Track & Field Championships, competing in the 800m preliminary round. Wenz won a state championship as a part of the 4x400m Relay team from Plainfield North and earned a silver medal in the 4x800m Relay. Wenz competed at the Nike Outdoor Nationals meet in the summer of 2025, running the anchor legs in Plainfield North's 4x400m and 1600m Sprint Medley Relay teams. She holds a personal best of 57.89 in the 400m event and 2:14.04 in the 800m.
Ava Wilson | Sprints | Long Grove, Illinois | Adlai E. Stevenson
Ava Wilson joins Bradley as a freshman entering the 2025-26 season. Wilson won an Outdoor 100m North Suburban Conference Championship in 2025 and qualified for the Illinois Class 3A State Championship in multiple events. Wilson competed in the 200m State Championship preliminary race and was a member of the state-qualifying 4x100m Relay team. She has a 200m personal best of 25.02 seconds and a 400m personal best of 58.92 seconds.
Final Thoughts
The Bradley University Track & Field Recruiting Class of 2025 is a statement group — one that blends immediate impact athletes with long-term potential. For athletes and families considering Bradley in future recruiting cycles, this class highlights a program on the rise, dedicated to competing at a high level in the Missouri Valley Conference and beyond.