Men’s XC holds steady at No. 4 in latest NAIA Top 25 poll

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (October 28, 2021) – The Milligan University men's cross country team held steady as the No. 4 team in the nation in the fourth in-season NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 poll.

The Buffs rank fourth in the country for the third-straight week. Milligan received a first-place vote for the second time this season (Poll 1) as St. Francis (Ill.) took over the top overall spot from Indiana Wesleyan with 17 first-place nods.

Thursday marks the 20th-consecutive poll in which the Buffs have been ranked and seventh-straight top-10 appearance.

The Buffs finished 1st out of 13 teams at the NAIA Southern States Challenge, hosted by USC-Beaufort on Saturday. Milligan had the top three finishers in the event and six of the top nine overall individuals as the Buffs' claimed the meet title with a team score of 20.

Over five regular season meets, Milligan men's cross country boasts an 92-9 head-to-head record.

Aaron Jones, the reigning Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Champion, owns the top overall 8k time (23:55) of any runner in the conference. Nathan Baker (23:56), Will Stockley (24:08), Eli Cramer (24:14) and Jake Crow (24:26) rank second-through-fifth on the 2021 conference leaderboard. Overall, the Buffs own 12 of the top 20 spots on the AAC leaderboard this season.

Milligan looks to take home its third-straight AAC title next weekend at the AAC Cross Country Championships in Canton, Ga.