No. 2 Women’s XC wins meet title for third-straight year at Charlotte

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (October 6, 2023) – The No. 2 Milligan University women's cross country team topped a field of 29 teams to win the Royals Challenge on Friday evening. The team title marked Milligan's third-straight year winning at meet title in Charlotte.

The Buffs won the meet with a team score of 77, besting 10 NCAA Division I squads, including Furman, Wake Forest, College of Charleston, Charlotte and South Carolina. Milligan edged NCAA Division II's No. 14 Wingate for the meet title by 22 points.

"It's just a lot of fun watching these teams compete," said head coach Chris Layne. "The heat and the dust made it less than ideal today but they just put their heads down and got after it."

Ellen-Mary Kearney continued her outstanding sophomore campaign with a third-place finish in 17:25.

"Ellen-Mary is starting to settle into her own," said Layne. "Loved how she finished today and I think that's a sign of what's to come."

Caitlin Dominy joined Kearney in the top-five with a fifth-place finish in 17:47.

Zanelle Willemse record a personal best collegiate cross county 5k time of 18:17 to finish 16th. Hannah Brown notched a season best time of 18:34 to finish 28th.

Patricia Barrera recorded a nearly 40-second personal record cross country time and completed Milligan's top five with a 33rd-place finish in 18:42.

Gracie Allen (45th, 18:56) made it six Buffs under 19 minutes and Natalie Fellers (19:01) made her way into Milligan's top seven with a PB of over 35 second (49th, 19:01).

"Honestly, we're seeing really good things in practice from both sides so I anticipate once we get better conditions they'll be in position to take another big step," said Layne.

The Buffs head to Knoxville for the NAIA Appalachian Challenge in two weeks.