Buffs Men’s Cross Country Runs to Perfection at Brevard XC Classic

Zimri Kuhn finished second for the Buffaloes in the squad’s perfect showing at the Brevard XC Classic

September 21, 2024

BREVARD, N.C. – On Saturday morning, the Milligan University men's cross country team took part in the Brevard XC Classic 8K hosted by Brevard College in Brevard, N.C.

The Buffs dominated, as they claimed the meet's top nine finishers and posted a perfect score of 15 for the race.

"We started the morning off with our charter bus breaking down," said head coach Chris Layne, "so I think it's important to note how well these student-athletes handled a little adversity because they really didn't have a lot of time to think. It knocked all of us off our normal schedule when it comes to how we operate pre-race."

Bryn Woodall took the top Milligan honors for the second straight event, finishing as the champion with a time of 24:41.1.

Milligan's Zimri Kuhn came away with a second-place showing, notching a 25:23.2 clip. Newcomers Winston Telford (3rd, 25:29.5), Douglas Cornfield (4th, 25:29.8) and Blake Hipkiss (5th, 25:37.3) rounded out the top five in the race.

Bryson Lewis placed sixth with a time of 26:11.5, with Joseph Abbott accounting for Milligan's final counting finisher in seventh with a clip of 26:12.7 improving on his first collegiate run last weekend in Boone by just under two seconds.

Sam Kyker and Daniel Martin finished eighth and ninth, respectively in the race. They produced times of 26:14.1 and 26:17.2 as the final two Buffs in the top 10.

Another group of seven runners finished in the top 20 for the Buffaloes, as Dillon Craig posted a 26:24.9 to finish 11th. Then, in 12th, 13th and 14th were Alex Britain, Josh Hale and Ashton Sheesley. Their times ranged from 26:27.2 to 26:33.3

Mitchell McCown (16th, 26:35.6), Connor Vanderkolk (18th, 27:05.8) and Gran Sexton (20th, 27:24.1) rounded out the top-20 finishing Buffaloes.

"I don't care where you're running, perfect scores don't come easy," Layne stated, "so that was really neat to see. It was a different dynamic to find yourself racing your teammates for a lot of the race, but we wanted them to embrace this race and put an emphasis on getting the most out of the opportunity - they did that."

Now, the Buffs look forward to the ECU Pirate Invitational at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. on Friday, Oct. 4.