Outdoor Track closes regular season at Lee U Last Chance

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (May 13, 2023) – The Milligan University outdoor track & field team had seven individuals notch NAIA national qualifying marks with six automatic standards at the Lee University Last Chance meet on Saturday.

"A lot on the line today and we got a mixed bag from the weather," said head coach Chris Layne. "I think it really helped with some events and then the humidity really reared its head and impacted the steeple and the 5k's tonight."

Ellen Mary Kearney and Caitlin Dominy posted NAIA "A" standards in the 1500 as Kearney was fifth in 4:32.50 and Dominy posted a personal best time of 4:34.95. Kaelyn Slaughter broke five minutes in the 1500 for the first time of her career with a PB effort of 4:58.10.

Bryn Woodall ran a PB and was an automatic national qualifier in the 1500 in 3:51.15.

Will Stockley (14:34.21) and Aaron Jones (14:35.01) ran NAIA "A" marks in the men's 5k. Jake Crow ran 14:50.95 in the second-fastest 5k of his career, narrowly missing the national standard by less than a second.

Keith Fletcher hit the NAIA "A" standard in the 110 hurdles with the second-fastest time of his career (14.54). Fletcher was also a heat winner with a personal best effort in the 200 (21.92).

Sylas Chambers was a national qualifier in the 800 with a personal best time of 1:52.59. Megan Christian won her heat of the 800 with a PB of 2:25.19.

Alex Brittain broke his own school record in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a personal best time of 9:37.49. Keaton Hincher also notched a steeplechase PR in 9:51.99.

Gracie Allen finished as the women's 5k heat two runner-up in 18:25.45. Natalie Fellers ran a personal best of over 30 seconds with a time of 18:50.18.

Arran Kearney ran the No. 2 5k of his career in 15:15.49. Josh Hale set a 5k PB by over 15 seconds at 15:41.90.

"So proud of how we competed across the board," said Layne. "Not sure our marks always reflected the grit and determination from our team which will certainly pay off for this bunch in the future."

The Buffs head to the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Ind. in two weeks.