No. 2 Women’s Cross Country set for NAIA Cross Country National Championship
VANCOUVER, Wash. (November 18, 2021) – The Milligan University women’s cross country team is set to compete at the NAIA National Championships as a team for the 19th-consecutive season. The No. 2 Buffs will take to the National Historic Championship Course in Washington state on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
VANCOUVER, Wash. (November 18, 2021) – The Milligan University women's cross country team is set to compete at the NAIA National Championships as a team for the 19th-consecutive season. The No. 2 Buffs will take to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course in Washington state on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Milligan's women's cross country squad has been ranked inside the top five in the NAIA Top 25 poll in all six polls over the course of the 2021 season. The Buffs have been second in the national rankings, only behind defending NAIA national champs St. Francis (Ill.).
Two weeks ago Milligan won its 16th Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship over the weekend in Canton, Ga. Alyssa Bearzi took home the individual championship and AAC Runner of the Year honors with a 5k time of 17:42. Lemi Wutz, Avery DeWolf Burton, Gracie Allen and Caitlin Dominy all joined Bearzi on the All-AAC Fist Team and Gabrielle Mardis was All-AAC Second at the AAC Championships.
As a team during the regular season, the Buff finished first out of 32 teams at the Queen City Invitational, 2nd out of 29 teams at the Royals Challenge and won the 12-team NAIA Southern States Challenge. Wutz matched Milligan Hall of Famer Hannah Segrave's all-time 5k record of 17:08 in a runner-up showing at the Queen City Invitational. Bearzi ran the third-fastest time in program history at the Queen City Invite (17:24) and Burton ran the fourth-fastest mark two weeks later at the Royals Challenge (17:43).
Wutz reeled in USTFCCCA South Region Athlete of the Year honors after posting top-five finishes in all five of her outings in 2021. Wutz took first in the NAIA Southern States Challenge and did not finish behind a single NAIA competitor before the AAC Championships when Wutz was the runner-up to Bearzi. Head coach Chris Layne swept AAC and USTFCCCA Coach of the Year honors for the second-straight season.
Last spring, the Buffs finished seventh at the NAIA National Championships with All-American outings by Burton (6th) and Bekah Owen (18th). Milligan's posted top-15 showings at the NAIA National Championships in each of the last six years. The Buffs' highest finish at the NAIA National Championship came in 2007 when Milligan took third.