Aaron Jones named AAC Runner of the Week

 ASHEVILLE, N.C. (October 11, 2021) – Milligan University sophomore Aaron Jones was honored as the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Runner of the Week after setting the Buffs' all-time 8k record at the Royals Challenge on Friday.

Jones and the rest of the No. 4 Buffs braved rainy conditions throughout to set personal-bests across the board and re-write Milligan's all-time 8k top-10 for the second-straight outing in Charlotte.

Jones and teammate Nathan Baker became the first Milligan men's cross country runners to break 24 minutes in 8k competition. Jones set the program standard at 23:55 to take 12th in the 337-runner field. Baker crossed the finish line at 23:56 to take 13th and take the No. 2 spot in Milligan's record men's cross country record books.

Will Stockley (24:08), Eli Cramer (24:14) and Alex Mortimer (24:59) also posted top-10 times in program history. The Buffs' recorded a tight spread of just over a minute (23:55-24:59).

As a team, the Buffs finished fourth of 33 teams that competed in the "gold" race at McAlpine Creek Park. The field featured six NCAA Division I programs and several nationally-ranked NCAA Division II squads.

Milligan cross country concludes its regular season schedule on Oct. 23 at the second annual NAIA Southeast Classic, hosted by South Carolina Beaufort.