Buffs finish day two of ETSU meet with nine AAC qualifiers
The Milligan College track & field team finished day two of the ETSU indoor track & field invitational with nine Appalachian Athletic Conference qualifying times in a field heavy with NCAA Division I, II and top NAIA competition.
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 11, 2020) – The Milligan College track & field team finished day two of the ETSU indoor track & field invitational with nine Appalachian Athletic Conference qualifying times in a field heavy with NCAA Division I, II and top NAIA competition.
"I said it yesterday, but I am proud of how they've returned from break fitness-wise," Head Coach Chris Layne said. "In addition, I think the large majority of our kids competed the way we wanted, and that's across the board. We certainly need to get better in places, but that's going to come because this crew is dialed in."
Hannah Bell and Ali Burns started things off on the women's side, running in the 3K. Bell had a personal best with a time of 10:47.20 and finished in fifth place overall. In her indoor track debut Burns finished in 11th place with a time of 11:26.77.
After the women's portion of the 3K, Cory Aulich competed on the men's side and finished in 19th place with a time of 9:19.80. All three 3K times were AAC qualifiers.
The women's mile saw five Buffs finish in the top nine and all five earn AAC qualifying times. Bekah Owen was the highest finish for Milligan in third place with a personal best time of 5:19.14. Finishing in fifth place was Gabrielle Mardis with a time of 5:24.19 and Avery DeWolf finished in sixth with a 5:27.96, both Mardis and DeWolf record personal bests as well. Caitlin Dominy and Maci Cloninger rounded it out for the Buffs in eighth and ninth respectively. Dominy ran a 5:34.95 and Cloninger ran a 5:39.92.
After the women's mile Mitch Bronstetter rounded up the day finishing fifth in the men's mile with a time of 4:31.77.
"Bekah, Gabby and Avery really stand out for their mile efforts this morning, and I think Hannah and Ali also ran well in their 3k," Layne said. "Mitch picked up a solid heat win in the mile, and I thought our 3k guys got a lot out of their races today."
Milligan will compete again next Friday and Saturday, Jan. 17-18, at the Keydet Invitational.