No. 13 Buffs win again, remain unbeaten

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 9, 2020) – Tim Thacker's third-place finish led a group of four Buffs inside the top 10 as the No. 13 Milligan University men's cross country team earned another win Friday night at the Royals Challenge. The win kept Milligan undefeated through four meets of the season so far.

Kelsey Mowrey led the No. 8 Milligan women, who finished third behind two NCAA Division II schools.

"We really wanted to use this as a training effort, and I think they did a great job executing the plan," Head Coach Chris Layne said after the race. "We had half of our men's roster race and a small group of women, and I think they got a great deal of experience tonight."

Thacker ran 24:12 with Jake Crow (24:26), Pablo Rivas (24:45) and Andrew Burton (24:56) following inside the top 10. Evan Henson rounded out the Buffs scoring in 19th with a time of 25:27.

With 42 points, Milligan topped Appalachian Athletic Conference foe and No. 23-ranked Montreat (48 points) despite running an abbreviated squad.

Mowrey's team-leading finish on the women's side saw her land a spot in the top 20 at 16th. Maci Cloninger, Lauren Spry, Camila Rivas and Rebecca Glover rounded out the scoring for Milligan's women, all inside the top 30.

"We look forward to turning the corner into the championship portion of the season," Layne added. "Then we'll let everyone loose and hopefully take another step toward being two very competitive teams."

Up next, Milligan competes at the AAC Preview, set for Saturday, Oct. 17, in Asheville, North Carolina. It will be the final race for the Buffs prior to the AAC Championships (Nov. 14).