Men’s XC ranked No. 3 in final pre-championship poll

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (November 9, 2021) – The Milligan University men's cross country team captured its third-straight Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship over the weekend and on Monday evening was tabbed as the No. 3 team in the final pre-championship NAIA Men's Cross Country Top 25 poll on Monday evening.

The Buffs were the only squad to receive a first-place vote besides No. 1 St. Francis (Ill.). Milligan received at least one first-place nod in three of five regular season polls in 2021. The Buffs have been ranked inside the top 10 for the last eight rankings and have been ranked in the last 21-consecutive top 25 polls, dating back to 2018.

Milligan won the AAC championship on Saturday at Boiling Park in Canton, Ga. with a team score of 17. Sophomore Aaron Jones repeated as the AAC individual champion and AAC Runner of the Year with a course record time of 24:46. Six of the top seven individual finishers were Buffs as Milligan was two points from a perfect team score.

Jones, Will Stockley, Nathan Baker, Eli Cramer, Bryn Woodall and Jake Crow all earned All-AAC First Team honors as top-seven finishers at the AAC Championships. Alex Mortimer was an All-AAC Second Team spot and Woodall, Alex Brittain and Zimri Kuhn secured spots on the AAC All-Freshman Team. Head coach Chris Layne was honored as the AAC Coach of the Year for the seventh time.

Milligan's men's cross country team turns its attention 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.