Season Preview: 2023 Women’s Cross Country

MILLIGAN, Tenn. (August 22, 2023) – The Milligan University women's cross country team has qualified for the NAIA National Championships for the last 20 seasons with four-straight top-10 national finishes. The Buffs claimed the NAIA national championship in 2021 and were the national runners-up last fall.

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The Buffs seek to remain one of the top contenders in NAIA cross country in 2023. Milligan begins its season at Appalachian State's Firetower Project Run on Friday, Sept. 2.

2022 Season Review: The Buffs spent the entire 2022 season ranked in the top two of the NAIA's coaches' poll. Milligan women's cross country has spent the last eight full seasons ranked in the NAIA top 25 with the last three seasons exclusively inside the top 10.

At the 2022 NAIA National Championships at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Fla., Milligan had three individuals earn All-America honors with top-20 national finishes as the Buffs were the national runner-up with a team score of 177. Ellen Mary Kearney (8th), Caitlin Dominy (14th) and Alyssa Bearzi (18th) earned All-America honors.

The Buffs won their third-straight and 17th overall Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) championship in 2022. Milligan finished the season with five meet titles, a 106-4 head-to-head record with a 16-3 mark against NCAA Division I opponents. The Buffs picked up notable head-to-head triumphs over Louisville and South Carolina last fall.

"Looking through this roster gives us a lot to look forward to," said head coach Chris Layne. "We return five of our top seven and definitely add a few women that are going to instantly make us better. It's wild to think our women have been to the national championships 20 years in a row, before some of our new women were even born."

2023 Preseason Poll: The Buffs topped the 2023 AAC Preseason Poll.

2023 AAC Women's Cross Country Coaches' Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) - Total Voting Points
1. Milligan (10) - 130
2. Montreat - 120
3. Truett McConnell - 104
4. SCAD Atlanta - 88
5. Tennessee Wesleyan - 85
6. Columbia - 84
7. Bryan - 75
8. Columbia International - 59
9. Reinhardt - 58
10. Brenau - 39
11. Pikeville - 24
12. Bluefield - 19

Key Returners: Milligan returns three All-Americans, including the 2021 NAIA cross country national champion.

Kearney established herself as one of the top cross country and track freshmen in the NAIA last year. She earned All-America honors in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. Kearney was the AAC individual champion, AAC Runner of the Year and AAC Freshman of the Year.

"I really felt like Ellen Mary just needed that first year to get acclimated and get her feet underneath he, so I really expect her to transition to another level this season," said Layne. "She had a big picture approach from day one and I think that's why Milligan was a good place for her, not to mention she really lined up with us as it relates to what we were looking for in our student-athletes."

Kearney ran as Milligan's No. 1 in all five of her appearances last fall. Her 5k effort of 17:21 at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge was the third-fastest time in program history.

Bearzi became Milligan's first-ever NAIA cross country national champion in 2021. She became the third two-time national champion in program history last winter when she claimed the NAIA indoor 5k national title in 2023.

"Like Ellen Mary, Alyssa is a huge student of the sport," said Layne. She puts a lot of trust in her coaches and she's tough as nails. To see her double outdoors just speaks to how far she's come and how much she's matured in her approached to overcome some chronic issues earlier in her career. You just can't ever count her out when it's championship time."

Bearzi is a two-time All-AAC First Team honoree in cross country. She was the 2021 AAC champion, AAC Runner of the Year, USTFCCCA Athlete of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Bearzi's cross country 5k PB of 17:24 is the fourth-fastest in school history.

Dominy returns for a fifth year after a breakout year in 2022-23 in cross country and track. She earned her first individual All-America award in cross country with a 14th-place finish with a personal best time of 17:43.

"Caitlin's development is something I'm really proud of and she gets a ton of credit for what she's done," said Layne. "She's transitioned into a big-time leader and our team is in such a good place knowing she's guiding our women. She leads by example and I know she's making a lot of our women better just by the tone she sets."

Dominy was the AAC runner-up last fall and is a three-time All-AAC cross country selection. Dominy was tabbed as the NAIA Runner of the Week after a sub-18 minute effort in the season opener at Appalachian State last fall.

Senior Gracie Allen is a three-time All-AAC cross country performer and national championship participant. She ran No. 5 on Milligan's national championship team in 2021 and scored for the Buffs at the NAIA National Championships as a freshman.

Sophomore Sophia Jeffers ran in Milligan's top seven in all four of her appearances during her debut campaign with a season best time of 19:29 at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge. Classmate Ashlyn Haas factored into Milligan's first eight finishers three times in four outings. Both Jeffers and Haas secured AAC All-Freshman honors with top-25 finishes at the AAC Championships.

Juniors Natalie Fellers and Anna Jones both set cross country PBs at 19:37 at the AAC Championships to finish 23rd and 24th respectively.

"I think we're really going to go by how we do in spots 4-10," said Layne. "If we can have a few of our women develop like we expect, this can be a pretty dangerous squad combined with how strong we are up front."

Newcomers: Junior transfer Hannah Brown headlines Milligan's incoming class after a successful junior college career at Mt. SAC. She led the Mounties to a pair of CCCAA cross country state championships as Mt. SAC's No. 1 finisher in both state championship meets. Brown posted a outdoor 5k personal best time of 16:59 last spring as the Mounties won back-to-back outdoor CCCAA state titles in 2022 and 2023.

"Hannah Brown was a really exciting addition," said Layne. "A lot of things lined up and really happy she's on our side. She not only brings a level of talent, she has experience at the collegiate level and she's been a proven winner at the junior college level."

Incoming freshman Abbie Page-Jones follows in Milligan's storied tradition of student-athletes from the United Kingdom. Page-Jones owns personal records of 10:58 in the 3k and 31:33 in the five-mile run.

"It's going to be fun watching those diamonds in the rough develop out of the rest of this crew," said Layne. "It's inevitable that it's going to happen and that's a testimony to the older women in this program."

Looking at the Schedule: Milligan's 2023 cross country schedule includes five regular season meets prior to the AAC and NAIA championships in November.

Buffs head to familiar courses at Appalachian State (Sept. 2) and Queens (Oct. 6). Milligan will host the Eli Cramer Invitational on campus on Sept. 22.

Milligan will travel to Virginia Tech to take on plenty of NCAA Division I and II opponents on Sept. 15.

Sequoyah Park in Knoxville will serve as the site for the Appalachian Challenge (Oct. 20) and the AAC Championship (Nov. 3).

The NAIA National Championships will be held at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Championship Course in Washington state. The Buffs claimed the NAIA national championship in Vancouver in 2021.

"I said this on the men's side, but our schedule really gives us a lot of what we need," said Layne. "Tougher courses at times and then a level of competition that should open our eyes as it relates to what we'll see at the NAIA level in November. What I love is our women don't get overly intimidated by anyone because they've been mixing it up at all levels for a long time."

Last Word: "Really neat to see this level of talent and if we can develop depth at a little higher level, this team will have a lot of success this season," said Layne. "The key is going to be approaching this one step at a time and making sure we are the best version of ourselves late in the year. With the leadership we have in place, I have a lot of confidence in what we're going to be capable of doing."