Milligan climbs to third in NAIA LEARFIELD Directors' Cup standings

CLEVELAND, Ohio (April 4, 2023) – After four top-five national finishes, Milligan University is the No. 3 institution in the winter standings of the NAIA LEARFIELD Directors' Cup.

Points for the LEARFIELD College Directors' Cup are based on each institution's finish at the NAIA National Championships for each respective sport. Men's bowling, women's bowling, men's swimming, and women's swimming earned points with top-five national championship placement as Milligan collected 409.00 points during the winter sports season. Adding the 270.00 points from the fall, the Buffaloes have 679.00 total points.

Both the Milligan men's bowling and women's teams posted fifth-place finishes at the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The Buffs squads each went 2-2 in the double-elimination tournament to land fifth. Nate Trentler was named the NAIA Men's Bowling Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the NAIA All-America Second Team with teammate Bryant Griffith made the third team.

Milligan women's swimming registered a third-place finish at the NAIA National Championship Meet. Riley Renaud highlighted the Buffs' outstanding performances as she won the individual national championship in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 17:03.33. Renaud also placed second in the 500 freestyle, touching the wall in 5:01.55. Gabby MacPherson nearly won an individual championship as she placed second in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:05.13. In all, Milligan collected 29 NAIA All-America honors in 13 events.

The Buffaloes men's swimming notched a fourth-place showing at the NAIA National Championship Meet. Stephen Gilbert recorded Milligan's only individual national championship this year as he won the 400 IM with a time of 3:53.52. Caleb Fry nearly collected an individual national title twice as he placed second in the 100 breaststroke (53.56) and 200 breaststroke (1:59.10). In all, Milligan collected 31 NAIA All-America honors in 14 events, and head coach Spencer Scarth was named the NAIA Men's Swimming Coach of the Year.

Milligan also scored points in women's indoor track & field (18th place at nationals), men's indoor track & field (29th place at nationals), and women's basketball (33rd place at the national tournament)

Milligan was the only institution in the top five with four top-five finishes during the winter sports season.

The Buffs had the top billing among 12 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) institutions that appeared in the fall standings. Pikeville (54th), Montreat (73rd), Union (80th), and Reinhardt (86th) join Milligan in the top 100.

The NAIA LEARFIELD Directors' Cup final standings will be released on June 11.