Men’s Cross Country honored as USTFCCCA National Scholar Team of the Year; eight student-athletes earn All-Academic status

NEW ORLEANS (February 2, 2024) – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named the Milligan University men's cross country team the NAIA Men's Scholar Team of the Year as both Milligan cross country squads collected All-Academic status with eight student-athletes earning All-Academic status.

To earn All-Academic distinction, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25 and qualify for the national championship meet.

Aaron Jones, the 2022 USTFCCCA Cross Country and 2023 USTFCCCA Indoor Track National Scholar Athlete of the Year collected All-Academic honors for the third-straight season. He became the first four-time cross country All-American with a seventh-place finish at the 2023 NAIA National Championships.

Jones, a history and humanities major, was joined by All-American Will Stockley (Master of Arts in Humanities) and Josh Hale (Exercise Science) as All-Academic honorees.

Women's All-Americans Caitlin Dominy (Masters in Counseling) and Hannah Brown (Sports Management) both earned All-Academic honors with 4.0 grade-point averages, as did Gracie Allen (Electrical Engineering). All-American Ellen-Mary Kearney (Exercise Science) and Natalie Fellers (Exercise Science) also achieved All-Academic honors.

Milligan's men qualified for All-Academic Team honors with a 3.27 team GPA. The Buffs' women also claimed the honor with a 3.62 cumulative GPA. Milligan previously swept Scholar Team of the Year honors for men's and women's cross country in 2021.

At the 2023 NAIA National Championships, Milligan claimed its second NAIA national title in men's cross country in the last three seasons. Milligan's women earned their fifth trophy finish in team history with a fourth-place showing.