Bryn Woodall, No. 1 Men’s Cross Country win at AAC Championships

COLUMBIA, S.C. (November 4, 2022) – The No. 1 Milligan University men's cross country team won its fourth-consecutive Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship and sophomore Bryn Woodall took the AAC individual title at the AAC Championships on Friday morning.

After edging No. 7 Montreat by three points in the NAIA Appalachian Challenge two weeks ago, the Buffs left no doubt by sweeping the top three finishers, having seven Buffs in the top 10 and recording a team score of 20. Montreat followed in second at 44 points. The Buffs posted a total team time of 124:40. Milligan's women also won the AAC title, making it the third-straight men's and women's sweep at the AAC Championships.

"Obviously, I'm extremely proud of and so happy for both programs," said head coach Chris Layne. "Two really talented teams that competed hard today and that's what we wanted. We were looking for this effort to set us up well for two weeks from now and it should."

Woodall turned in a personal best 8k time of 24:24 to become the AAC champion and AAC Runner of the Year. He topped the 92-man field at Par Tee Golf Center for his first-ever collegiate cross country victory.

Will Stockley ran to a runner-up finish in 24:37 and Aaron Jones was third in 24:49.

"I've said from day one that Bryn is arguably one of the most talented men we've seen in our program and he's putting it together at the right time," said Layne. "Really happy for him. Those three and the depth we have has just been a lot of fun to watch this season."

Sophomores Alex Brittain and Zimri Kuhn made their way into Milligan's top five and top eight overall. Brittain finished sixth and ran a PB of 25:13. Kuhn crossed eighth in 25:29.

Dawson Reed (25:30) and Jake Crow (25:33) completed the Buffs' top seven as Reed was ninth and Crow placed 10th.

Alex Haggard finished 15th in 25:55, Pablo Rivas was 16th in 25:58, Arran Kearney followed in 17th (16:04) and Sylas Chambers was 18th (26:04). A total of 11 Buffs appeared in the top 20 finishers at the meet.

Woodall, Stockley, Jones and Brittain collected All-AAC First Team applause. Kuhn, Reed and Crow were All-AAC Second Team honorees. Freshman Dillon Craig was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team. Layne was honored as the AAC Men's Coach of the Year for the eighth time.

The 2022 AAC championship is Milligan's ninth men's cross country conference title all-time. The Buffs qualify for the NAIA National Championships for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. The 2022 NAIA National Championships are set for Nov. 18 in Tallahassee, Fla. Milligan won its first-ever NAIA national championship in cross country last fall.