No. 3 Men’s Cross Country opens 2021 with competitive showing at App State

BOONE, N.C. (September 3, 2021) – The No. 3-ranked Milligan University men's cross country team placed four finishers inside the top 35 and outpaced four NCAA Division I programs Friday night at Appalachian State as the Buffs opened their 2021 season.

With nine Division I teams at App State, the Buffs took sixth out of 13 teams overall with a score of 148. Florida State took first place with 36 points.

Senior Nathan Baker led the charge for the Buffs with a 25:54.5 8k time, good for 16th in the 137 runner field.

"I said it in our preseason release, but Baker just shows up when the lights go on," said head coach Chris Layne. "He's a competitor."

Junior Jake Crow and sophomore Eli Cramer both posted top-30 finishes as Crow was 28th in 26:16.8 and Cramer crossed 29th at 26:19.8.

Will Stockley finished 35th in his Milligan debut in 26:26.5 while veteran Alex Mortimer took 44th (26:40.2) to complete the Buffs' top five.

"I was really pleased with our one-through-five split, which I believe was right around 45 seconds," said Layne. "I think we can tighten this up as we move through the season. You get a little altitude up here as well, so I was encouraged with the men all the way around."

Senior Pablo Rivas placed 54th (26:59.1) while freshmen Alex Brittain took 64th (27:24.0) and Zimri Kuhn crossed 72nd (27:38.7).

Milligan cross country returns to action Friday, Sept. 24 at the Queen City Invitational in Charlotte.