Milligan finishes at No. 21 in final fall Learfield standings

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Jan. 14, 2020) – The final fall poll of the Learfield IMG College Directors' Cup standings announced Milligan College as the No. 21-ranked athletic program in the NAIA.

Milligan finished with a total of 157 points and was 12 points away from being in the top 20. Milligan was the highest ranked team in the Appalachian Athletic Conference with SCAD Atlanta coming in next at No. 51.

Men's and women's cross-country and volleyball helped give Milligan the ranking they received. Both cross country teams earned finishes in the top 15 at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships. For the men, this followed winning the Appalachian Athletic Conference title, led by junior Nathan Baker, who was the AAC Runner of the Year and an NAIA All-America team member. Both Milligan cross country teams landed in the top 15 in the postseason coaches' poll, the women at No. 8 and the men at No. 14.

Rounding out the cross country team's successful fall season was coach Chris Layne who earned several accolades after pushing his men's team to the AAC title and another high finish at the national championship. Layne earned NAIA South Region Men's Coach of the Year and AAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year.

The Milligan volleyball team returned to the NAIA Volleyball National Championship for the second year in a row this fall. This year the volleyball team became the first team at Milligan to host a national tournament event as they hosted their opening round match. The team was led by senior Kellee Geren who was named AAC Setter of the Year, AAC Player of the Year, and NAIA All-America honorable mention.

On top of the national success, both programs received regional recognition as well. Baker was the NAIA South Region Men's Athlete of the Year while Geren and fellow senior Julie Dockery earned AVCA Northeast All-Region. For Geren, this came alongside winning the honor of region player of the year.