Buffs open season with dominating win

BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. (Sept. 18, 2020) – Avery DeWolf led a 1-2-3 finish for the Milligan University women's cross country team, and the Buffaloes opened the season with a decisive win at Montreat College Friday night.

DeWolf ran 18:51, followed shortly by Gabrielle Mardis (19:09) and Caitlin Dominy (19:29) in the 5k race. Seven Buffs finished in the top nine.

"I know our teams have been looking forward to this opportunity for a while now," Head Coach Chris Layne said, "so we knew they'd be ready to go. I felt like these were two very strong performances in very tough course conditions due to all the rain we've had in the region."   

Bekah Owen (19:54) and freshman Gracie Allen (20:21) rounded out Milligan's top five with fifth- and seventh-place finishes.

"Bekah sprained her ankle early in the race and struggled a bit, but I'm really proud of how the other women stepped up and took control. We knew Avery was really fit and Gabby is such a competitor. We also saw strong runs by Caitlin, Gracie and Ali Burns."

As a team, Milligan tallied 18 points to run away with the win over runner-up Montreat (46 points). The field featured five teams and over 50 runners.

Up next, Milligan runs at Bryan in the Dual on the Mountain next Friday, Sept. 25. The Buffs will host Bryan and Tennessee Wesleyan the following Friday, Oct. 2, in the second annual Buffalo Creek Invitational.