No. 15 men head to national championship with high expectations

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Nov. 20, 2019) – With the Appalachian Athletic Conference runner of the year, league runner-up and team AAC championship-winning squad, the No. 15 Milligan College men's cross country team will finish the 2019 season at the 64th annual NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championship. The race is set for Friday, Nov. 22, at 10:30 a.m. local time/1:30 p.m. EST.

This is Milligan's fourth trip as a team to the national championship in the last five years after winning the AAC for the third time in the last five years.

"For both squads, I think the AAC Championships served as confirmation that we can compete with the best," Head Coach Chris Layne says. "Coming off that meet, they should know they're fit and in a good place heading into Vancouver."

Race Details

The 64th annual men's 8k national championship race, hosted by Cascade Collegiate Conference, will take place at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Thirty-seven teams and 81 individuals will be in the mix.

The women's 5k championship race (11:30 a.m. local time/2:30 p.m. EST) and awards ceremonies (3:30 p.m. EST) for both races will follow.

Milligan this season

Nathan Baker and Tim Thacker have led the Buffs throughout this season as Milligan's undisputed No. 1 and No. 2. Baker, the 2018 indoor track & field national champion at 3000 meters and conference champion two weeks ago, has a trio of wins this season. Thacker, a two-time All-American and the national runner-up in the indoor mile, has been clipping at Baker's heels in every race, taking second three times, including runner-up at the AAC meet.

"Nathan and Tim are obviously proving to be two of the best in the NAIA as they had to beat a number of really good individuals at the AAC meet," Layne says.

Behind Baker and Thacker have been Alex Mortimer and Jake Crow. Mortimer led the Buffs in 43rd overall at last year's national championship. Crow, a freshman, has been a solid addition among the underclassmen. One of Crow's best finishes this season came in his collegiate debut at the Zaxby's Open when he led Milligan with a third-place finish. More recently, he was one of four Buffs inside the top 10 at the conference meet.

"Honestly, our men just need to execute and I think we'll see them take a solid step," Layne says. "Alex (Mortimer) was our top guy last year and ran in the 40s place-wise, so now we have two All-American candidates and Crow right with Mortimer. If we run to our potential, this could end up being a productive weekend for the men."

History of success

The Buffs have a tradition of success at the national stage. In addition to qualifying as a team for the NAIA National Championship in four of the last five seasons, the Buffs have won the AAC Championship three times in the last five seasons.

Last year, Mortimer was the first of two Buffs in the top 100 (Mitch Bronstetter/100th). Also returning from that group is Cory Aulich who took 267th.