Buffs run to victory in historic home race
Both the No. 15 men and No. 17 women of the Milligan College cross country program ran an excellent race in the college’s first event on campus in its 20-year history. In a dual meet against Appalachian Athletic Conference member Tennessee Wesleyan, Milligan ran away with the victory on both sides.
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (Sept. 13, 2019) – Both the No. 15 men and No. 17 women of the Milligan College cross country program ran an excellent race in the college's first event on campus in its 20-year history. In a dual meet against Appalachian Athletic Conference member Tennessee Wesleyan, Milligan ran away with the victory on both sides.
Nathan Baker (14:55) led a group of men who earned the top seven finishes in the three-mile race. Gabrielle Mardis (11:09) broke the Milligan record for two miles and led the women who placed seven in the top eight.
"We couldn't have asked for a better night," Head Coach Chris Layne said. "It was priceless for our teams to be able to race in that environment – a huge shoutout to Buff Nation for showing up and making a ton of noise."
Following Baker was Tim Thacker (15:22), Alex Mortimer (15:44), Mitch Bronstetter (15:45) and Andrew Burton (15:55) who helped Milligan win with a perfect score, placing all five scorers in the top five spots. Pablo Rivas (15:57) and Cory Aulich (16:03) finished next in sixth and seventh, while Samir Koko (16:08/10th), Eli Baldy (16:14/11th), Seth Nicol (16:16/12th), Tyler Bates (16:30/14th), Alex Windham (16:45/16th) and Adam Wall (17:29/18th) also represented Milligan in the historic race.
Avery DeWolf (11:19) finished runner-up on the women's side, followed by Bekah Owen (11:24) in fourth, Katlyn Haas (11:29) in fifth, Hannah Bell (11:38) in sixth, Caitlin Dominy (11:45) in seventh and Amy Ferguson (11:46) in eighth. Ali Burns (12:05/11th) and Maci Cloninger (12:11/12th) rounded out the women's results for Milligan.
"I felt like our teams were ready to run well so I definitely had more jitters when it came to putting on a first class event for our two teams and for the spectators," Layne said. "This was special so I wanted to make sure we dotted the I's and crossed the T's."
Up next, Milligan competes in the Queens City Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina, Friday, Sept. 27.