Men’s and Women’s Cross Country/Track achieve top-15 NAIA Program of the Year finishes

NEW ORLEANS (June 8, 2023) – The Milligan University men's and women's cross country and track & field programs both earned spots in the USTFCCCA NAIA Program of the Year final standings on Thursday.

To be eligible for the award, teams must qualify and place at each of the NAIA National Championships for cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each championship event with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determines the annual winner. Milligan was one of 12 NAIA insitutions that had both men's and women's teams earn a spot in the year-end rankings.

Milligan's men finished seventh and Milligan's women checked in a No. 15 nationally. Dordt took the men's Program of the Year title while Huntington claimed the women's crown.

At the 2022 NAIA Cross Country National Championships, both of Milligan's teams finished second overall in the team standings. Aaron Jones, Will Stockley, Bryn Woodall and Jake Crow claimed men's All-America honors. Ellen Mary Kearney, Caitlin Dominy and Alyssa Bearzi took All-America honors in the women's race.

The Buffs both notched a pair of top-10 finishes at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in March. Woodall (3k), Bearzi (5k) and Jones (5k) claimed national titles in their respective events. Both of Milligan's distance medley relays ran to All-America honors, as well as Stockley and Kearney. Milligan's women placed fifth overall, a program record, while Milligan's men earned their fourth-straight top-10 finish as the Buffs tied for eighth.

Jones (10k), Stockley (5k) and Kearney (1500) each earned All-America laurels at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in May. Milligan finished 36th in the men's standings and tied for 61st on the women's side at the outdoor championships.

For Milligan's men, it was the Buffs' sixth appearance in the Program of the Year standings and the third top-10 finish. Milligan's women made their fourth appearance in the top 15 cross country and track programs nationally.

NAIA Program of the Year History:

Men:
2022-23: 7th
2021-22: 11th
2020-21: 7th
2018-19: 6th
2016-17: 20th
2015-16: 16th

Women:
2022-23: 15th
2020-21: T-3rd
2016-17: 15th
2015-16: 13th