Kearney Sets Milligan Record in 1500m, Buffs Outdoor Squads Compete at Raleigh Relays and King Invitational
BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Milligan men's and women's outdoor track and field teams were in action in two states on Friday, as three athletes competed at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C., while the majority of the roster spent the day at the King University Invitational in Bristol. Overall, the squads nabbed four event wins, 23 personal-best marks and 26 finishes in the top three across the two sites.
Starting in Raleigh, Ellen-Mary Kearney posted a personal-best, Milligan-record time of 4:21.46 in the women's 1500m. She now sits at No. 10 in the NAIA all-time in the event with the effort. She placed 40th out of 223 participants.
Romario Taylor was in action in North Carolina, as well, finishing in 24th in the 400m with a time of 47.84.
The last athlete who competed at the Raleigh Relays on Friday was Brayden Simpson, who came away with a personal-best 14.87-second run in the 110m Hurdles, which netted him 37th place.
In Bristol, the men's Hammer Throw concluded with Corey Greeson (45.50m) and Dillon Handshey (42.60m) posting second and third place finishes, respectively. Those throws were also personal-record distances.
Then, in the women's 5000m, Annie Kate McDermott placed third with a 19:31.06. Joanna Halterman came in fourth right behind McDermott with a personal-best 19:32.54.
Douglas Cornfield scored a runner-up finish in the men's 5000m with a 16:07.04, while Elijah Gouge placed fifth with a 16:30.00, which was his personal-best.
Annika Hoefler came out of the women's Hammer Throw with a third-place finish at 39.18m, while Joy Reks posted her best mark of her career with a 39.05m hurl to finish fourth.
Milligan had a women's Pole Vault performance from both Keri Belcher and Mary Custodio, who came in second and fourth places, respectively. They both leapt to a height of 2.90m.
The women's 1500 at the King University Invitational saw Gracie Franklin (4:54.38), Karly Wilhjelm (4:58.26), Isabelle Johnson (5:06.41), McKenna Spaulding (5:09.63) and Rachel Dulaney (5:09.93) finish in the top seven.
The men's 1500m was similar, with five in the top seven. Carter Windham scored a victory with his personal-best 3:59.35 mark. Winston Telford came in second with a 3:59.61, while Connor Vanderkolk came out in fourth, achieving a season-best of 4:07.92. Blake Hipkiss and Alex Brittain placed sixth and seventh.
Autumn Stanley's women's Triple Jump effort to fly 10.37m was good for a sixth-place result, as well as a new personal-best distance.
For the Buffaloes women, Hope Krell placed third in the 400m, boasting a time of 1:05.15 to mark a new personal-best.
The Buffs saw Hunter Crook come away with a sixth-place showing in the 100m, as he is now the No. 24 time in the NAIA with his 10.82 mark.
Jessi Swanger posted a personal-record mark in the women's 200m, clocking in at 27.66, which was good for a second-place result. Anna Gardner came in seventh with a 32.02.
In the men's 200m, Kaleb Spears put forth a 22.63, which earned him fifth place, while Aaron Vaughn trailed him in sixth with a 22.70 time. Crook came in eighth, notching a 22.92 mark.
The Buffaloes' men saw three of their members take the top three spots of the 3000m, as Telford had a 9:07.85 to win. Hipkiss came in second, crossing the line in 9:09.78. Lastly, Josh Hale placed third with a mark of 9:20.62.
Then, in men's Discus, Greeson returned with a 44.43m throw to finish as the event's runner-up.
Lastly, in men's Javelin, Konnor Kilgore placed fourth. He tossed the spear 40.51m, which is a new personal-best for him.
It was another stellar day for the outdoor T&F squads, as the Raleigh Relays will continue on Saturday with a quartet of athletes running in their respective 800m races, as Kearney, Luis Peralta, Sylas Chambers and Bryn Woodall will race to close out the weekend.