Thacker posts another No. 1 national mark; Buffs dominate at CIU, ETSU

COLUMBIA, S.C. (Feb. 5, 2021) – Already with the No. 1 mile time in the nation, senior Tim Thacker did it again with the No. 1 1000-meter time Friday to lead the No. 17 Milligan University men's track & field team on day one of a split weekend at Columbia International and East Tennessee State. The distance crew once again led the No. 11 Milligan women who experienced similar success.

Thacker won the 1k in a time of 2:25.5 to lead a group of four Milligan men inside the top six in the event. Nathan Baker finished second in 2:31.4, Sam Wehner took third in 2:35.5, and Pablo Rivas finished sixth in 2:37.7. Thacker, Baker and Rivas all recorded personal bests, and it was only the tip of the iceberg as Milligan dominated both the 1k and the 5k on both the men and women's sides.

Jake Crow, Andrew Burton, Alex Mortimer and Eli Baldy represented four Buffs in the top nine in the men's 5k, finishing second, fourth, sixth and ninth, respectively. Crow (15:26.7), Burton (15:31.8) and Baldy (16:04.8) all recorded personal bests. 

Gabrielle Mardis, Avery DeWolf and Bekah Owen, using the 5k as a controlled training effort, finished 3-4-5 with times of 18:12.7, 18:12.7 and 18:12.8, and the trio turned around quickly to post solid finishes in the 1k. DeWolf led a 2-3-4-5-6 finish in the event in 3:04.1, with Owen (3:05.8) following in third, Mardis (3:06.4) in fourth, Caitlin Dominy (3:07.2) in fifth and Alyssa Bearzi (3:07.5) in sixth.

Mardis notched a personal best by nearly nine seconds in the 5k before DeWolf, Mardis and Bearzi all notched personal bests in the 1k.

The Buffs also posted great results in the 600 meters on both sides. Kiley Wood finished sixth overall in a new personal best of 1:43.2. After missing a few weeks due to injury, Gracie Allen returned to the track to finish seventh overall in 1:43.7, with Valentina Kenjeres eighth in 1:44.6. Matt Huff and Luke Avery made their debuts at 600 meters on the men's side, running 1:27.7 and 1:28.4, respectively, to finish eighth and ninth overall. 

"To be honest, I'm not sure we could've had a better day," said Head Coach Chris Layne. "I saw a ton of energy and excitement from the entire squad. They supported each other and really got after it on the track." 

Burns leads way at ETSU with new 3k personal best

Ali Burns highlighted the Buffs at nearby ETSU. She won her heat and took fourth overall in the 3000 meters with a time of 11:07.42 to improve her personal best by 19 seconds.

Jake Domermuth, in his collegiate debut, finished sixth overall in the men's 3k, Kaelyn Slaughter won her heat and took 12th overall in the mile, and Ellie Ayers improved her weight throw personal best by almost a meter. 

"ETSU really gives us the opportunity to get some of our younger folks in a uniform and to also attack a few more Appalachian Athletic Conference marks as we turn the corner into the last half of the indoor season," Layne said.

Up next

Milligan finishes the week at CIU and ETSU on Saturday before returning to Virginia Military Institute for the VMI Classic next weekend. It will be the final event prior to the AAC Championships (Feb. 18-19).