Men’s cross country cracks national top 10

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (Oct. 29, 2020) – After going undefeated through all five events of the season so far, including winning the Appalachian Athletic Conference Preview its last time out, the Milligan University men's cross country team moved up to No. 9 in the latest national top-25 poll. The NAIA announced the poll on Thursday.

This is the highest national ranking in Milligan men's history and marks the 56th consecutive week the Buffs have been inside the national top 15. The Buffs moved up four spots from the previous poll, which had them No. 13.

"We're at a crucial point in the season with the AAC Championships now just two weeks away," Head Coach Chris Layne says. "I think our men are in a good position fitness-wise and they've remained healthy from an injury standpoint, but we have to make sure we're doing everything we can to avoid this virus."

The Buffs have been reeling in awards for each of their efforts so far this season. Freshman Aaron Jones highlighted the last time out with an individual victory at the AAC Preview on the way to earning AAC runner of the week and NAIA runner of the week honors. He became the third Buff this season to win the weekly conference award, following Evan Henson (Sept. 30) and Tim Thacker (Oct. 7).

Milligan's victory at the AAC Preview saw the Buffs place five runners in the top 10. Jones led the way, with Thacker finishing behind him in third, Eli Cramer coming in sixth, and Jake Crow and Andrew Burton taking ninth and 10th.

Milligan is 17-0 this season with several victories over AAC schools. This includes No. 12 Montreat, which also made a big jump in the latest poll, and Reinhardt, which is receiving votes.

Milligan will next be in action on Saturday, Nov. 14, for the AAC Championships, marking the conclusion of their fall schedule. The NAIA Men's and Women's Cross Country National Championships have been moved to Friday, April 9, 2021.

"With some programs not competing this fall, the rankings look a little different,' Layne adds, "but if we have the opportunity to come together in April for the national championships, our expectation is to have both programs inside the top 10 with a shot to really finish the year off the right way."