No. 13 Buffs sweep top 10 in home race
With the first 10 runners to cross the finish line wearing orange and black, the No. 13 Milligan University men’s cross country team won in dominating fashion once again Friday evening at the Buffalo Creek Invitational. Senior Tim Thacker led them all with a winning time of 15:23 in the 5k race.
MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Oct. 2, 2020) – With the first 10 runners to cross the finish line wearing orange and black, the No. 13 Milligan University men's cross country team won in dominating fashion once again Friday evening at the Buffalo Creek Invitational. Senior Tim Thacker led them all with a winning time of 15:23 in the 5k race.
The perfect score (15 points) helped the Buffaloes stay perfect through three races this season.
"Overall, I was really pleased with the way we competed on both sides," Head Coach Chris Layne said. "I expected us to be a little flat based on where we were training-wise, but both teams still got after it and battled the entire way."
Rounding out the top 10 were all Buffaloes. Aaron Jones came in second at 15:28. Nathan Baker followed third in 15:48. Jake Crow (15:50) and Eli Cramer (15:53) rounded out the perfect score. Spots six through 10 went to Andrew Burton (16:03), Pablo Rivas (16:11), Evan Henson (16:12), Ethan Pfister (16:16) and Sam Wehner (16:18).
"Tim and Aaron really got after it today, and they set the tone for the entire men's squad," Layne said. "It's not easy to go one through five across, let alone one through 10, so I think that really speaks to our team effort today and the depth of this squad. We had a bunch of personal bests from top to bottom, and it's so good to see these guys taking steps this early in the season."
In addition to the first 10, Milligan claimed 13 of the top 15 and 16 of the top 23. Bryan and Tennessee Wesleyan battled out a close second and third with 62 points and 64 points, respectively.
Up next, Milligan has one more event on the schedule prior to the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships. The event will be the AAC Preview, set for Saturday, Oct. 17, in Ashville, North Carolina.
Tim Thacker crossing the finish line: