No. 2 Milligan Men’s Cross Country Wins Sixth Straight AAC Title, Woodall Takes Meet Crown

Bryn Woodall earned the individual title at the AAC Men's Cross Country Championships on Friday morning in Knoxville, outpacing the field by just under 40 seconds as part of Milligan's sixth straight AAC title

November 8, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Cross Country Championships took place at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville on Friday morning. Milligan University's squad put forth a dominant display, notching only 26 points and boasting all their top five runners in the top 10. They also posted the conference champion, as Bryn Woodall came away with a new meet record time to take the crown.

Woodall put forth a 23:56.4 clip to earn the overall individual title, breaking the AAC record time at the annual championship meet. His lead was nearly 40 seconds quicker than the second-place finisher.

"It was a great run for Bryn up front," said head coach Chris Layne. "That's not easy to do solo and I think that speaks to where he is right now. He has come so far in four years and it's simply due to his work-ethic and buy-in – he's an absolute pleasure to work with."

Blake Hipkiss came away with a personal-best mark, finishing at 24:46.5 to finish in fourth place and earn All-AAC First Team honors. The transfer ran his most impressive race in his first year with the Buffs when it mattered most.

Winston Telford finished just two seconds off his personal-best mark in fifth place, crossing the line in 24:58.4. His previous best was posted in 2022 during his time at Eastern Oregon University.

"Blake and Winston really filled a gap for us today and then we just really leaned on our depth to get this done," Layne continued. "This an effort by 40 plus men, they've supported each other all year and they've had a really good time doing it."

Bryson Lewis and Zimri Kuhn finished back-to-back in eighth and ninth places. They posted 25:09.1 and 25:10.3 times to reach All-AAC Second Team status.

Douglas Cornfield (11th, 25:17.3) and Sylas Chambers (14th, 25:33.7) were also named to the conference's Second Team. They finished sixth and seventh out of Milligan's 16-harrier outfit.

Daniel Martin (17th, 25:40.1), Sam Kyker (19th, 25:42.9), Ashton Sheesley (20th, 25:48.2), Joseph Abbott (21st, 25:50.6), Alex Brittain (24th, 26:04.4), Mitchell McCown (26th, 26:22.2), Joshua Starr (33rd, 26:41.9), Dillon Craig (34th, 26:42.6) and Connor Vanderkolk (37th, 27:01.5) rounded out the list of Buffs runners.

Woodall earned conference Runner of the Year and was named All-AAC First Team. Hipkiss, Telford and Lewis earned All-AAC First Team honors, while Kuhn, Cornfield and Chambers were Second Team honorees.

Abbott and Cornfield were recognized as members of the All-AAC Freshman Team. while Layne and his staff were also touted as the Staff of the Year in the AAC.

"I am really proud of this program – our admin, our coaches and our student-athletes," Layne concluded. "You're not going to win all of these, all of the time, but if you're in the conversation year in and year out, I think that says a lot about the culture our men have created and there are a lot of former athletes responsible for that."

Now, after celebrating another major accomplishment, Milligan will turn their eyes forward to the NAIA Men's Cross Country National Championships in Columbia, Mo. on Nov. 22, where they aim for a repeat championship as a team and their third in four seasons.