Indoor Track & Field racks up nine national qualifiers and over 50 conference marks in season opener

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (November 29, 2022) – The Milligan University indoor track and field teams had seven runners achieve NAIA "A" national qualifying standards, nine total national qualifiers, seven first-place finishes and over 50 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) qualifying results at the Ben Martin First Chance Indoor/Outdoor Meet on Tuesday.

"Such a unique opportunity to open indoors this way and I really thought we had a great vibe all day long," said head coach Chris Layne. "It was great to bring everyone together."

All seven of Milligan's 2022 cross country All-Americans secured their spots at the NAIA National Indoor Track & Field Championships in the 5k in their very first outing of the indoor campaign. Milligan's distance group recorded 21 personal records and 31 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) conference championship standards.

"The weather really cooperated early on and then the heavy rain held off until the 5k's, but our crew didn't let that impact their performance one bit," said Layne. "Extremely proud of their focus."

Ellen Mary Kearney, Caitlin Dominy and Alyssa Bearzi took the top three spots in the women's 5k with NAIA "A" standards. Kearney took the meet title in 17:27.59, Dominy followed with a personal best time of 17:29.18 and Bearzi clocked in at 17:40.70. Gracie Allen also secured a national qualifying time of 18:17.86 to finish fourth.

Milligan's men also swept the top four spots with NAIA "A" national qualifying efforts. Bryn Woodall led the charge in 14:23.95, Aaron Jones followed in 14:25.89, Will Stockley crossed in 14:30.14 and Jake Crow finished in 14:50.37. Zimri Kuhn (15:01.30) snagged a national qualifying mark and was followed by Arran Kearney (15:05.57) and Alex Haggard (15:14.31).

The Buffs finished 1-2-3-4 in the men's 1k with Sylas Chambers (2:32.91), Alex Windham (2:32.95), Mikel Valladares (2:35.13) and Carter Windham (2:38.58) taking the top four spots.

Pablo Rivas won the men's 3k in 8:57.92. Josh Hale (8:58.01) and Keaton Hincher (9:07.66) finished second and third, respectively, in the event.

Ali Burns was the runner-up in the women's 3k in 10:53.23. Kaelyn Slaughter followed in third in 11:07.47 and Patricia Barrera was fourth in 11:22.30.

In the sprints and jumps, Milligan had six personal best times, a dozen conference standards and three victories on the day.

Keith Fletcher set a pair of personal bests as he was the runner-up in the 200-meter dash in 22.68 and had the top 60-meter hurdle time of the day (8.63). Skylan Stephens ran 7.12 in the 60-meter dash prelims and 7.14 to finish second in the final. Evan Hayes finished third in 7.17.

Carson Conatser won the men's high jump at 1.75 meters and Conner Mowell was third after clearing 1.70 meters.

Scarlett Zeoli finished first in the women's 400-meter dash in 1:09.44.

Aaron Vaughn, Stephens, Jeremy Evans and Ja'Quan Williams approached Milligan's 4x400 indoor record with a time of 3:29.91, 0.44 seconds behind the Buffs' 2010 program record.

Megan Christian finished second in the 200-meter dash in 28.65. Autumn Stanley was fourth in 28.72. Stanley also posted a personal best effort in the triple jump at 10.04 meters to finish third.

In the throwing events, the Buffs totaled seven PRs and eight conference standards. Ellie Ayers was the runner-up in the women's shot put (10.09 meters) and weight throw (11.70 meters). Joy Reks set a personal best in the weight throw at 11.61 meters, good for third place. Kade Hoilman was the runner-up in the men's shot put at 12.49 meters. Corey Greeson finished fourth in the men's weight throw at 12.39 meters.

"Our coaching staff continues to do an excellent job," said head coach Chris Layne. "To turn the corner into December with all of these conference and national standards out of the way gives us the momentum we wanted."

The Buffs will send several throwers and jumpers to Appalachian State's John Weaver Invitational on Friday evening.