Women win AAC title, men runners-up

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Feb. 21, 2020) – With seven more individual titles on day two of the Appalachian Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, the Milligan College track and field team wrapped up the meet as team champion on the women's side and team runners-up on the men's side. The AAC championship event took place Thursday and Friday at JDL Fast Track.

The Buffs won 13 conference titles and set five AAC records across the two-day event. Junior Tim Thacker won the AAC male athlete of the year honor while Head Coach Chris Layne's staff won staff of the year.

"This is honestly one of the most complete performances I've ever seen from our track teams," Head Coach Chris Layne said. "The teamwork, effort and support for one another this entire championship was the reason we were able to do this.

"I purposefully avoided trying to project team scores going in so I didn't influence doing the right thing for both of our squads. Obviously, we have a number of our folks performing well right now so I knew we could be in the hunt to at least finish in the top four." 

Thacker, Brown, Haas lead Buffs in multichamp category

Thacker, the AAC champion in Friday's 1k, secured two more titles on day two to finish with three crowns, two AAC championship records and a No. 1 time in the nation. He started Saturday with a win in the 800 meters in an AAC record 1:53.47 to break his own record of 1:55.12 from last year. It currently ranks as the NAIA's top time by 0.63 seconds. Thacker later rounded out his week with a narrow win of the mile, shattering the previous AAC record by over 10 seconds. Nathan Baker took third and Sam Wehner took fifth in the event.

Rasheem Brown and Katlyn Haas followed Thacker as multitime champions, Brown winning two individual events and Haas winning an individual event and a relay.

Brown, who won the 60-meter dash with the top preliminary time and top finals time Friday, did the same Saturday in defending his title of the 60-meter hurdles. He posted a 7.86 in the prelims, 0.73 seconds faster than the rest of the field, before posting a time of 8.00 in the finals, 0.47 seconds faster than the rest of the field. Brown's 7.86 broke the AAC championship record.

Haas was the 1k champion Friday night before helping the Buffs pick up the 4x800 meter relay crown in 9:51.97, almost 20 seconds faster than the rest of the field. The team, which consisted of Maci Cloninger, Caitlin Dominy, Rebecca Glover and Haas, were unranked coming into the event.

For Cloninger and Glover, this marked two relay titles, as the pair also represented Milligan in the women's distance medley relay Friday night. In similar fashion, Ethan Pfister was a multitime AAC champion as he ran one leg of both the men's DMR Friday and the 4x800 meter relay Saturday. The men's 4x800 group also were unranked coming in and broke the AAC record in 8:12.14. Pfister, Seth Nicol, Samir Koko and Sam Wehner represented the team, with Wehner also a part of the relay that previously set the record in 2018.

Rounding out Milligan's individual champions were Erica Stone in the 800 meters and Valentina Kenjeres in the 600 meters. Both entered their event as the No. 1 seed and lived up to their billing. Stone ran 2:22.52 for the AAC championship record, finishing with a strong final lap, before securing third behind Kenjeres in the 600. Kenjeres ran her 600 in a championship time of 1:41.03.

For the complete list of Milligan's AAC champions, please see below.

Key performers

Milligan produced several other individuals with high marks and key finishes despite securing a title in their event.

Baker ran to a runner-up finish in the 3k by 0.01 seconds, finishing in a national A standard time of 8:38.50 to lead a trio of Buffs in the top six. Jake Crow secured the national standard in a new personal best time of 8:44.20 while Mitch Bronstetter also ran a personal best in 8:54.53. All three Buffs finished under the previous championship record, which had stood for two years.

Brianna Buck took a runner-up finish of her own, and in a jump off to determine the winner. Her mark was 1.60 meters.

Milligan picked up big points on the women's side in the mile and 3k. Haas, Avery DeWolf, Gabrielle Mardis, Bekah Owen, Ali Burns and Hannah Bell went two through seven in the mile with Mardis and DeWolf earning new personal bests. Mardis (third), DeWolf (fifth), Owen (seventh) and Bell (eighth) led the Buffs in a 3k race that saw the AAC record and eight women under the national qualifying standard.

In the field events, Allie Rose used a new lifetime best of 10.56 meters to finish seventh in the women's shot put. She threw a personal best in the qualifying rounds to reach the final, then did it again to score points for the Buffs. Freshman Halie Hawkins, who started a new era of Milligan track & field this season competing in the pole vault, jumped to a new personal best of 3.12 meters to finish third overall and secure a podium spot.

"I've always said the toughest part of this job is getting our folks to realize their real potential," Layne concluded. "To see so many personal bests in a championship environment speaks to their growth and buy-in."

AAC Champions – Full List

Tim Thacker (3x) – 1000 meters, 800 meters, mile

Rasheem Brown (2x) – 60 meters, 60-meter hurdles

Katlyn Haas (2x) – 1000 meters, 4x800 meter relay

Ethan Pfister (2x) – DMR, 4x800 meter relay

Maci Cloninger (2x) – DMR, 4x800 meter relay

Rebecca Glover (2x) – DMR, 4x800 meter relay

Tons Ferguson – Triple Jump

Erica Stone – 800 meters

Valentina Kenjeres – 600 meters

Kiley Wood – DMR

Gabrielle Mardis – DMR

Skylan Stephens – DMR

Matt Huff – DMR

Mitch Bronstetter – DMR

Caitlin Dominy – 4x800 meter relay

Seth Nicol – 4x800 meter relay

Samir Koko – 4x800 meter relay

Sam Wehner – 4x800 meter relay

Relay Champions

Women's 4x800 meter relay – Maci Cloninger, Caitlin Dominy, Rebecca Glover, Katlyn Haas

Men's 4x800 meter relay – Ethan Pfister, Seth Nicol, Samir Koko, Sam Wehner

Women's DMR – Kiley Wood, Maci Cloninger, Rebecca Glover, Gabrielle Mardis

Men's DMR – Ethan Pfister, Skylan Stephens, Matt Huff, Mitch Bronstetter

Up next

Milligan will send its national qualifiers to the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships, set for Thursday-Saturday, March 5-7, in Brookings, South Dakota.