Buffs Indoor Track & Field Starts Season at Ben Martin First Chance

Milligan's men's and women's indoor track and field squads began their season at the Ben Martin First Chance meet in Oak Ridge, Tenn. on Wednesday

December 5, 2024

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The Milligan University men's and women's indoor track and field squads competed on Wednesday at the Ben Martin First Chance meet in Oak Ridge, Tenn., hosted by Oak Ridge HS. The Buffaloes boasted a trio of national qualifiers at the event, and had 47 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) individual qualifiers with 17 top-three finishes and six event victories. The Buffaloes men finished atop the team standings, while the women came away as runners-up.

"I really liked both the attitude and effort I saw from our entire team," said head coach Chris Layne. "It was extremely cold and windy and neither squad flinched the entire time. I am impressed by what I saw from some of our sprints, jumps, hurdles and throws crew - our new coaches are doing a nice job, and then I thought we saw really competitive efforts from our middle-distance and distance student-athletes."

Alyssa Bearzi (17:15.68), Ellen-Mary Kearney (17:25.85) and Bryn Woodall (14:10.79) each qualified for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships in their respective 5k races, pending conversions. Additionally, Winston Telford posted a 14:45.16 in the 5k, which is faster than the NAIA 'B' standard. Upon conversion, however, his time will likely not meet the necessary mark for national qualification.

"I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the incredible effort by Bryn in the men's 5k," Layne continued. "To run 14:10 solo for the last 7.5 laps in those conditions says a lot about where he is right now. I am really happy for him. I also think it's worth mentioning that was Alyssa's fastest 5k on an outdoor track, so she continues to make ground after missing the time she did."

On top of Woodall's win in the men's 5k, Hope Krell earned a victory for Milligan in the women's 600, with a time of 1:45.91. Kaleb Spears had a strong showing for the Buffs on the men's side in the 400, notching a 50.43 to win the event. Carter Windham then won both the 600 (1:23.29) and the 1k (2:35.78) as the only repeat champion of the day for the Buffaloes. Conner Mowell managed a 1.80m high jump effort to win the competition, as well.

There were a bevy of second and third-place finishers for the Buffs, as Krell enjoyed a runner-up position in the 1k at 3:13.70. Abbie Page-Jones' 3k time of 11:39.91 was good for second overall, as well. Bearzi's national qualiufying time in the 5k was good for a second-place finish, while Kearney finished third in that same race. Aaron Vaughn came in second in the men's 600 (1:24.38), while two field athletes, Annika Hoefler and Brendon Gibson finished second for Milligan. Hoefler managed a 11.40m toss in the weight throw, while Gibson came in second in the high jump at 1.80m. Freshman Megan Haire came in third in the women's 3k with an 11:47.95 clip, while Telford's 5k time for the men was strong enoungh to place him third. Joy Reks (women's WT) and Zion Reddick (men's SP) posted distances of 11.39m and 13.12m, respectively, to place third.

The Buffs will be back in action on Saturday at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-off in Winston-Salem, N.C., looking to continue racking up national qualifiers and team triumphs.