Milligan women land 10th nationally after strong final day

YANKTON, S.D. (March 5, 2021) – Avery DeWolf earned the national runner-up in the 3k, Bekah Owen earned the national runner-up in the 5k, and Gabrielle Mardis, Kiley Wood, Gracie Allen and DeWolf earned the national runner-up in the distance medley relay as the No. 18 Milligan University women's track & field team concluded the NAIA Indoor National Championships Friday. The Buffs scored 24 points on the final day to move up to the No. 10 spot in the final standings.

Milligan produced seven All-Americans going to the aforementioned six, plus Owen, who qualified as part of the distance medley relay.

"I cannot say enough about these women today," said Head Coach Chris Layne. "I am so proud of their performances. Avery and Bekah both raced with a great deal of maturity, and then to see Gabby and Avery bounce back and give us such strong legs on the DMR having just finished the 3k says so much about their toughness."

Buffs pack a big punch in a very small window

All three results finished within a span of 55 minutes, DeWolf starting the day with a narrow runner-up in the 3k. She ran 10:01.01, just over two seconds behind national champion status and a full four and a half seconds ahead of third. Mardis also qualified for the final of the event and finished 11th nationally with a time of 10:49.57.

Following in nearly identical fashion, Owen and Alyssa Bearzi claimed the same outcome in the 5k. Owen was the national runner-up in 17:40.01, second by only 3.3 seconds, while Bearzi took 11th in 18:33.12.

The distance medley relay finished the day, and the women's national championship event, with another national runner-up. They ran 12:17.95, second by roughly 20 seconds and nearly seven seconds ahead of third.

"Kiley and Gracie – former teammates at Dobyns-Bennett – also gave us their best legs of the season to keep us in contention," Layne added. "This has been a trying year for these kids, and they have handled everything with a tremendous amount of resiliency and professionalism." 

Up next

The indoor season has concluded for Milligan's women, but the Milligan men will be in action Saturday to wrap up their indoor season. The day is set to include the Buffaloes in the final of three events: the mile (11:30 a.m. CST), 3k (2:30 p.m. CST) and distance medley relay (3:25 p.m. CST).

Outdoor season is set to begin Friday, March 19, at the CIU Rams Invitational. 

Seven All-Americans

Avery DeWolf - 3k, DMR
Bekah Owen - 5k, DMR
Gabrielle Mardis - DMR
Kiley Wood - DMR
Gracie Allen - DMR