Milligan claims first AAC Men’s Indoor Track & Field title; Buffs take home 12 AAC titles

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (February 18, 2022) – The Milligan University indoor track & field teams concluded the 2021-2022 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Championships with the men taking home the AAC team title for the first in program history and the women finishing third overall.

The Buffs cleaned up the conference honors as Milligan swept the Track Athlete of the Year awards with Avery DeWolf Burton claiming the award on the women's side and Will Stockley taking it home the men's award. Bryn Woodall was named the AAC Men's Freshman of the Year. Head coach Chris Layne and his staff took home AAC Men's Coaching Staff of the Year honors. In total, the Buffs won a total of 12 conference titles, set six AAC Championship records, and met 14 NAIA "A" standards.

"This group was flawless the entire meet," said Layne. "They fought for one another, supported one another and absolutely stepped up across the board to accomplish both of these finishes. A huge congrats to Avery, Will and Bryn on their honors. I know our staff has a huge sense of pride watching them compete the way they did these last two days."

Burton repeated as the AAC's most valuable women's track athlete. She won AAC titles with NAIA "A" standards in the 1k and mile, set the AAC's 1k record and ran on Milligan's championship-winning and AAC record-setting distance medley relay. Stockley won conference championships in the 1k and mile with NAIA "A" standards as well. He set the conference championship record in the mile and was the last leg on Milligan's record setting DMR. Woodall hit NAIA "A" standards in two events. He was the conference champion with an AAC Championship record in the 3k, was runner-up to Stockley in the mile and 1k and ran in the Buffs' championship DMR.

After claiming the AAC title in the 1k yesterday, Burton won the mile with an NAIA "A" standard time of 5:01.76. Ali Burns grabbed silver in 5:18.98 and Caitlin Dominy placed third with a time of 5:21.89. Gracie Allen took sixth in 5:28.76. Rounding out the top ten, Lauren Spry turned in a time of 5:53.82.

Stockley also followed a 1k title with a mile championship as he won the event and posted an AAC Championship record time of 4:17.36. Woodall collected silver in 4:18.01, joining Stockley with an NAIA "A" standard. Crow finished in fourth place with a time of 4:21.24, a national qualifying time. In sixth place, Pablo Rivas turned in a time of 4:29.46. Alex Brittain came in eighth place in 4:31.38.

In the women's 3k, Milligan had the champion and placed five runners place inside the top eight. Alyssa Bearzi won her second conference title of the meet with an "A" standard time of 10:14.60. Natalie Fellers finished in fourth place in 11:30.10, Lauren Spry was fifth in 11:49, Annie Kate McDermott placed sixth in 11:49.13 and Anna Jones posted a time of 11:51.54 to place seventh.

In the men's 3k, Milligan runners placed one-through-four with Woodall coming in first place shattering an AAC Championship record (8:33.33) with a time of 8:23.32. His time was an NAIA "A" cut and ranks fourth nationally. Aaron Jones finished second and also broke the previous AAC Championship record with a time of 8:28.31. Eli Cramer was third in 8:36.27. In fourth place, Alex Mortimer posted a time of 8:40.37 and Evan Henson placed seventh in 8:45.46. All four runners

In the men's 800, three of the top five finishers were Milligan runners. Sylas Chambers was the AAC champion with a time of 1:55.85, which converts to an NAIA "A" standard. In fourth place, Alex Windham posted a time of 1:58.48. Rounding out the top five, Jake Crow turned in a time of 2:00.39 and Samir Koko finished sixth in 2:03.69.

In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Keith Fletcher earned a silver medal with a personal best time of 8.78.

In the women's 600, Megan Christian placed second overall with a time of 1:43.04. In the men's 600, Ja'Quan Williams finished third overall with a time of 1:23.98. Mikel Valladares placed sixth with a time of 1:26.90.

In the women's 4x800 relay, Milligan posted a runner-up finish, with the foursome of Rachel Dulaney, McDermott, Gracie Pendleton, and Kaelyn Slaughter finishing in second place in 10:36.13.

In the men's 4x800, Matt Huff, Zimiri Kuhn, Sam Sosebee, and Valladares also grabbed silver with a time of 8:18.59.

In the men's shot put, the Buffs had two athletes finish inside the top ten. Corey Greeson recorded a personal best throw of 12.84 meters to claim bronze. Kade Holiman finished in sixth place with a throw of 11.85 meters.

In the women's 800 meters, Rebecca Glover turned in a top 5 finish with a personal best time of 2:24.76 which placed her fifth overall.

In the women's 4x400, Jemimah Ndune, Glover, Kaelyn Slaughter and Christian placed fifth overall with a time of 4:24.66.

Chambers, Windham, Kamdyn Lee and Skylan Stephens placed fourth in the men's 4x400 relay in 3:32.53.

Milligan's indoor track season concludes at the NAIA National Championships in Brookings, S.D. March 3-5.