PEORIA, ILL. -- Drake senior Casey McDermott (Newton, Iowa) placed second out of 184 runners in the Bradley Classic women's cross-country meet at the Newman Golf Course Friday.

McDermott was clocked in a personal best 21 minutes 17 seconds in the 6,000-meter race. Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Elise Sigg won the race in 21:05.

In the final tune-up before competing in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships Oct. 30, McDermott helped lead the Bulldogs to eighth place in the 20-team field.

McDermott credited the team's two-week layoff for her performance. The Bulldogs had been idle since competing in the Loyola (Ill.) Lakefront Invitational Oct. 2.

"Honestly, it was a combination of training and try to stay patient," said McDermott.

The Newman Golf Course also will serve as the site for the NCAA Midwest Regional championship Nov. 13 which provided another incentive for McDermott to perform well.

"I've been focusing on peaking at the end of the season," McDermott added. "It was important to have a good race on this course to build on for the regionals. I know I have a lot left in me."

Drake senior Tara Scieszinski (Albia, Iowa) was 20th in 22:07, while senior Meredith Bell (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) placed 44th in 22:41. Drake freshman Erin Poss (Antioch, Ill.) was 53rd in 22:53 and junior Kirsten Lake (Parker, Colo.) was 71st in 23:13.

"We had a strong team performance," said Drake cross country coach Dan Hostager. "This was a step in the right direction and a good tune-up for the league meet."

BRADLEY CLASSIC
At Peoria, Ill.
Women's Team Scoring
1.  Iowa State 69; 2. DePaul 131; 3. Saint Louis 149; 4. Eastern Illinois 160; 5. Illinois B 169; 6. Northwestern B 176; 7. Bradley 184; 8. DRAKE 190; 9. Southern Illinois  198; 10. UMKC 201; 11. Northern Iowa 237; 12. Missouri B 312;  13. Loyola-Chicago 323; 14. Wisconsin-Milwaukee 333; 15. South Dakota State 361; 16. Illinois-Chicago 462; 17. SIU Edwardsville 493; 18. Western Illinois 506; 19. Southeast Missouri State 524; 20. Wisconsin-Green Bay 593;

Individual Winner  (6,000 meters) - 1. Elise Sigg, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 21:05.

Drake Results -- 2. Casey McDermott, 21:17;  20. Tara Scieszinski, 22:07; 44. Meredith Bell, 22:41;  53. Erin Poss, 22:53; 71. Kirsten Lake, 23:13; 79. Katie Coomer, 23:22;  84. Amanda Marwitz, 23:25;  112. Celia Venezia, 23:59;  162. Allie Heifner, 25:32; 164. Connor Twomby, 25:36;  177. Lucy Stanke, 28:03.