Men’s XC returns to No. 2 spot in NAIA national rankings

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (October 26, 2023) – The Milligan University men's cross country team rose one spot and collected No. 2 billing in the final regular season edition of the NAIA Men's Cross Country Top 25 Coaches' Poll on Thursday.

Milligan has been second or third in each set of national rankings this season. The Buffs have been featured in the NAIA's top 10 in the last 21 polls. Indiana Wesleyan retained the No. 1 national ranking with 18 first-place votes with the Buffs collecting two first-place nods. The rest of the top five includes The Master's, College of Idaho and Saint Mary.

Milligan turned in an impressive showing at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge last Friday with the Buffs winning individual and team titles in Knoxville. Bryn Woodall set Milligan's all-time cross country 8k record with a time of 23:49. He topped the 180-man field and was honored as the conference and NAIA national runner of the week.

Aaron Jones (third, 24:05) and Will Stockley (fifth, 24:12) turned in season-best times at Sequoyah Park.

Zimri Kuhn crossed 10th in a personal-best time of 25:01. Sylas Chambers completed Milligan's scoring five with a PB of 25:35 to finish 23rd.
In the team standings Milligan won with a score of 42 points. The Buffs finished ahead of a pair of teams that rose in the most recent rankings, No. 9 Montreat and No. 23 Huntington.

Milligan heads back to Knoxville for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships next Friday.