Aaron Jones repeats as AAC champ as No. 4 Men’s XC claims third-straight AAC crown

CANTON, Ga. (November 6, 2021) – Sophomore Aaron Jones claimed the individual conference title and the Milligan University men's cross country team took home the 2021 Appalachian Athletic Conference Men's Cross Country Championship for the third-straight season with six of the top seven overall finishers at the AAC Championships on Saturday morning.

The No. 4 Buffs posted a team score of 17, two points away from a perfect score. No. 17 Montreat finished second with a score of 55 and SCAD Atlanta was third with a score of 95. Milligan's women also captured their second-straight AAC title with a team score of 18.

"Both of these squads are tremendously talented and extremely resilient," said head coach Chris Layne. "This was a great day for our student-athletes as well as those alumni that helped lay the foundation for this program."

Jones collected AAC Runner of the Year honors for the second-straight season with a Boiling Park 8k course record of 24:46 to win the 124-man race.

"It's been a blast watching Aaron operate," said Layne. "He made a good move today and then was never in danger. I'm really proud of the men - they put an emphasis on the team effort and that was apparent with the 1-5 spread, which I think was right at 20 seconds."

Will Stockley (24:53) and Nathan Baker (24:54) finished second and third as Milligan swept the top three spots. Montreat's Ethan Stamey crossed fourth as the only non-Buff in the top seven.

Eli Cramer, Bryn Woodall and Jake Crow finished 5-6-7 with Cramer logging a 24:54, Woodall finishing in 25:05 and Crow crossing in 25:26. Milligan's spread one-through-five clocked in at 19 seconds.

Alex Mortimer closed the Buffs' top seven with a 14th-place showing in 25:48.

Freshmen Alex Brittain and Zimri Kuhn made it nine Buffs in the top 20 as Brittain was 16th in 25:59 and Kuhn took 18th in 26:18.

Other Milligan finishers were Pablo Rivas (26:33), David Crow (26:39), Ethan Pfister (26:43), Sylas Chambers (26:44), Evan Henson (26:58), Seth Jinks (27:09), Eli Baldy (27:11), Thomas Johnson (27:11), Matt Huff (27:42), Caleb Arias (28:01), Will Owen (28:06), Hayden Charles (28:07), Graydon Hull (28:16), Keaton Hincher (28:35), Josh Osorio (29:15) and Evan Spaulding (29:58).

Jones, Stockley, Baker, Cramer, Woodall and Crow all earned All-AAC First Team honors for their top-seven finishes. Mortimer collected the final spot on the All-AAC Second Team. Woodall, Brittain and Kuhn were named to the AAC All-Freshman Team. Head coach Chris Layne was honored as the AAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time.

With their eighth AAC title in tow, the Buffs punch their tickets to the NAIA National Championship in Vancouver, Wash. On Nov. 19. Last spring the Buffs posted their highest finish at the NAIA National Championship in program history at third overall with four All-American finishers.

"For both teams, it's now just about staying healthy and keeping our focus on Vancouver," said Layne. "We've been there before and there is a lot of national champs experience on both sides."