Cross country ranks high in national polls

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Oct. 1, 2020) – The first cross country national poll of the season is out, and Milligan University ranks among the NAIA's best. The Milligan men come in at No. 13 while the women come in at No. 8.

Milligan maintains its position on the women's side after finishing last season as the No. 8 program at the NAIA Women's Cross Country National Championship. Avery DeWolf and Bekah Owen led the way for them with 32nd- and 34th-place finishes, respectively.

Nathan Baker's All-American 22nd-place finish helped the Buffs land 14th at the national championship on the men's side. This year's preseason national poll sees the Buffs move up one spot.

Milligan is off to a dominating start to the 2020 season. Already two meets into the schedule, the Buffs remain undefeated with lopsided results at both the Montreat XC Kickoff (Sept. 18) and Bryan's Dual on the Mountain (Sept. 25).

DeWolf, Gabrielle Mardis and Caitlin Dominy went 1-2-3 on the women's side while Tim Thacker, Aaron Jones and Eli Cramer went 2-3-4 on the men's side in the first race of the year. Kaelyn Slaughter and Evan Henson then led their respective sides in the second race of the season, both earning Appalachian Athletic Conference runner of the week for their efforts.

"The bottom line is we have two very competitive teams and there's a fine line between what it takes to be a top five team contending for a title or a top 10 team on the outside looking in," says Head Coach Chris Layne. "We're just happy to be part of the equation this early in the season, and hopefully we'll be on the right side of that line once the championship portion of the season rolls around."

The Buffs will put their strength to the test once again Friday evening on campus as they host the second annual Buffalo Creek Invitational. Action is set to be underway at 5:30 p.m.