Buffs Men's Indoor T&F Wins AAC Championship with Record Points Scored, Women Finish Third

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Day two on the track and field at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C. was a huge success for the Buffaloes' squads, as the women finished off their weekend with a third-place showing out of 11 teams with 102 points, and the men set a new record for points scored in a AAC T&F Championship with 260 to take the title.

The day on the track began with a standout run from Brayden Simpson in the 60m Hurdles final, as he clocked in at 8.29 seconds, which is a personal-best mark in his freshman season as a Buffalo. Reese Pesterfield reached the podium, placing third with a 9.29 time, and Philip Lotivio came in fourth with his 9.36 mark.

Hunter Crook added two points to the Milligan men's tally with his seventh-place showing in the 60m Dash, managing a 7.16-second sprint.

Milligan's women's 4x800m Relay squad, including McKenna Spaulding, Isabelle Johnson, Kendall Jarvis and Rachel Dulaney, finished second with a 10:09.53 mark, which earned them eight points for the team.

On the men's side, it was Aaron Gottlied, Jaiden Carmichael, Bailey Wade and Connor Vanderkolk who combined for a third-place showing in the 4x800m Relay. They clocked in at 8:20.07.

Ellen-Mary Kearney then provided a 3000m time of 9:48.47, which was good enough to earn her the AAC title in the event and an NAIA "A" standard. Alyssa Bearzi placed fifth in the race, while Ashlyn Haas and Hannah Brown came in sixth and eighth, respectively.

The Milligan men continued to extend their lead with the 3000m by Bryn Woodall, as he posted a 8:16.43, which was an AAC meet record and an NAIA "A" standard. He won the race by over 10 seconds. Douglas Cornfield (8:41.49), Bryson Lewis (8:41.80) and Zimri Kuhn (8:51.21) took spots three through five, while Alex Brittain ended up eighth with an 8:58.49.

For the women, McKenzie Fitzgerald came away with a podium finish in the 800m, posting a 2:22.36. Dulaney placed seventh, scoring a 2:29.93 time as Milligan's other point-getter.

In the men's 800m, Luis Peralta was able to run a stellar 1:54.79 to win the race and grab an NAIA "B" standard. Milligan swept the podium, as Carter Windham placed second in a 1:56.64 span and Sylas Chambers came away with third place after running a 1:58.25 as the three runners in the race with a time under two minutes. Carmichael also finished in the top eight, clocking in at 2:05.49.

Romario Taylor dominated the men's 200m Dash, scoring a 22.44 time and bringing home an indoor title for the Buffs.

Kearney returned to the track with a vengeance, earning the win in the women's 600m by posting a 1:37.38 time. She also set the new AAC meet record with that clip and earned an NAIA "B" standard. Hope Krell was also a scorer in sixth place with her 1:44.18 mark.

The men had their own meet record set, as Peralta came across the line in 1:20.03 to become the AAC champ and earn an NAIA "A" standard. C. Windham followed him, scoring a 1:22.67 in second place, while Chambers came in fourth with his 1:24.48 mark.

Bearzi posted a fifth-place finish in the women's Mile. She clocked in at 5:17.56 to grab four points for the Lady Buffs.

In dominant fashion, the men had five finishers in the top eight in the Mile, including Woodall, who set another AAC meet record and reached an NAIA "B" standard with his 4:14.90 clip. Bryson Lewis came in as the final podium finisher, placing third with a time of 4:23.56. Cornfield finished fourth, with Gottlied coming in fifth and Dillon Craig ending up eighth.

In the field, Milligan first competition was the women's Pole Vault, where Mary Custodio leapt 2.45m (8' 0.5") to earn the third spot on the podium. She added six points for the Buffaloes.

Milligan also had two men finish on the podium in the Pole Vault, as Lotivio managed a 4.20m (13' 9.25") mark to win the conference title. Pesterfield placed third with a 3.15m (10' 4") vault.

Zion Reddick had a top-tier finish in the men's Shot Put, as he unleashed a 13.93m (45' 8.5") toss to reach runner-up status in the AAC. Dillon Handshey also threw a 12.06m (39' 6.75") shot to place ninth, just a quarter inch off the points list.

Milligan's success sends them forward to the Joe LaRocco Invitational in Roanoke, Va. On Saturday, Feb. 15, as several athletes will be in search of nationals qualifying marks two weeks in advance of the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships Feb. 27-Mar. 1 in Gainesville, Fla.