Buffs win five titles on day one of AAC meet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 18, 2021) – Tim Thacker and Avery DeWolf won two Appalachian Athletic Conference titles to lead the Milligan University No. 25 men and No. 13 women through a successful first evening of the AAC Championships Thursday at the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center. Milligan is currently fourth on the men's side and second on the women's side after day one.

Milligan tallied 59 points on the men's side, with a narrow window representing the top four teams. Montreat, last year's winner, leads the way with 68 points while Reinhardt and Tennessee Wesleyan have 66 and 65, respectively. No. 19 Columbia leads the women's side with 101 points, 31 ahead of Milligan (70 points).

"Day one really played out the way we expected," Head Coach Chris Layne said. "I was extremely proud of how we competed across the board. We had a number of breakthroughs from our young folks and of course a number of our veterans really delivered all evening."

Distance crew hauling in big points for the Buffs

Thacker and DeWolf both won individual titles and were part of relay titles to lead Milligan on their respective sides. Thacker took over one second off the old AAC Championship record in winning the men's 1000 meters in 2:29.21. It led a stampede of Buffaloes, as Nathan Baker, Sam Wehner, Jake Domermuth and Matt Huff came in 2-5-7-8 to score points for Milligan.

Thacker later helped the distance medley relay, along with Wehner, Austin Walker and Ethan Pfister, win the AAC title in a AAC record-shattering 10:20.47.

DeWolf's day looked similar to Thacker's. She started the day with a win of the women's 1000 meters in 3:07.44, leading Caitlin Dominy, Valentina Kenjeres, Kaelyn Slaughter and Rebecca Glover in a 1-2-3-5-7 finish as the Buffs swept the all-conference honorees in the event. DeWolf then helped the women's distance medley relay win the final event of the day in 12:22.65, also talking off substantial time from the previous AAC Championship record.

In addition to both DMR teams setting new AAC records, the men's side notched the No. 10 time in the NAIA this season while the women's ran the No. 2 time.

Bekah Owen earned another AAC title for Milligan in winning the 5000 meters in 18:19.01. Alyssa Bearzi finished runner-up in the event in 18:34.61.  

Alex Mortimer and Andrew Burton highlighted the men's side the 5000 meters with a 2-3 finish in 15:45.83 and 15:46.08.

Milligan will continue the AAC Championships with day two set for Friday. For the complete list of Milligan's champions, please see below.

Milligan's AAC Champions

Avery DeWolf – 1000 meters | 3:07.44
Tim Thacker – 1000 meters | 2:29.21 *
Bekah Owen – 5000 meters | 18:19.01
Avery DeWolf, Gabrielle Mardis, Gracie Allen, Kiley Wood – Distance Medley Relay | 12:22.65 *
Sam Wehner, Austin Walker, Ethan Pfister, Tim Thacker – Distance Medley Relay | 10:20.47 *

* - AAC Championship Record