National champions Milligan XC sweep USTFCCCA National Scholar Team of the Year honors; Alyssa Bearzi named NAIA Women’s Cross Country National Scholar Athlete of the Year

NEW ORLEANS (January 27, 2022) – National recognition continues to roll in Milligan University men's and women's cross country after the Buffs swept NAIA National Championships in November. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) bestowed NAIA National Scholar Team of the Year honors on both squads, sophomore Alyssa Bearzi was named the Women's Cross Country National Scholar Athlete of the Year and 13 Buffs earned All-Academic status, the USTFCCCA announced on Thursday.

Milligan's cross country teams secured All-Academic status by virtue of a men's cumulative GPA of 3.400 and a women's GPA of 3.680. Additionally, the Buffs' first-place showing at the 2021 NAIA National Championships secured 2021 NAIA Men's and Women's Cross Country National Scholar Team of the Year awards.

Bearzi becomes the first-ever Milligan woman to be named Women's Scholar Athlete of the Year in cross country, following in the footsteps of Buff great Emily Kearney, who was the awarded the National Scholar Track Athlete of the Year over the summer. Bearzi boasts a 3.26 GPA in business administration and captured the NAIA individual national championship with a 5k time of 18:14. Bearzi also received USTFCCCA NAIA Women's Athlete of the Year honors in November.

Bearzi was joined by five of her teammates as All-Academic Athletes on the women's side. To qualify for USTFCCCA All-Academic honors, one must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 on a 4.0 scale and qualify for the national championship meet. Bearzi, Gracie Allen Ali Burns, Avery DeWolf Burton, Caitlin Dominy and Gabrielle Mardis all collected All-Academic status.

All seven of Milligan's runners that competed at the NAIA national championship were named All-Academic with Nathan Baker, Eli Cramer, Jake Crow, Aaron Jones, Alex Mortimer, Will Stockley and Bryn Woodall receiving the individual academic honor. Milligan and Grace were the only two men's teams to have seven runners named All-Academic in 2021.

"These awards speak to the caliber of young women and young men in our program and academics are and will always be a massive part of who we are as an institution," said head coach Chris Layne. "I'm extremely prideful we're doing it in both arenas."

At the 2021 NAIA National Championship, Milligan became the third institution to sweep men's and women's national titles since the NAIA began a women's championship in 1980.