NAIA Appalachian Challenge ends with Team Victory for Milligan Women's XC

The Milligan women’s cross country team earned a triumph as a team at the NAIA Appalachian Challenge in Knoxville on Friday morning

October 25, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Milligan University women's cross country team came ready to blaze the course at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville for the annual NAIA Appalachian Challenge. Only NAIA institutions are invited to be a part of the race, and 21 women's programs were in attendance. The women raced to six top-20 finishes on their way to an event title with 44 points tallied as a team. They took down the No. 6, No. 8, No. 12 and No. 24 teams in the nation in the race.

Milligan's top finisher was Ellen-Mary Kearney, who finished in second, just three seconds behind the race victor. She posted a 17:22.3 clip, which was just a second slower than her best ever 5k time of 17:21.2 at the 2022 edition of the NAIA Appalachian Challenge.

Alyssa Bearzi came across the line in fifth place and clocked in at 17:35.9 for the women, with Hannah Brown steaming in behind her in eighth place with a time of 17:49.9. Brown posted her personal-best 5k clip in the race, beating her previous best mark of 18:04.0 at last year's NAIA Appalachian Challenge.

Out of the woodwork came Ashlyn Haas, who had never run a 5k faster than 18:54.1 prior to this race. She finished in 13^th overall, obliterating her previous best time with a new personal-best mark of 18:20.1, turning in an outstanding performance.

Freshmen Gracie Franklin (16^th, 18:23.6) and Karly Wilhjelm (18^th, 18:27.0) both posted personal bests, as well, coming across as the fifth and sixth finishers for the Buffaloes. Then, Patricia Barrera was the final Milligan finisher that counted toward the team's score in 26^th with a time of 18:43.8.

Anna Jones (34^th, 18:58.2, PB), Natalie Fellers (50^th, 19:19.2), Cameron Walker (51^st, 19:21.3, PB), Hope Krell (54^th, 19:32.5, PB), Joanna Halterman (66^th, 19:45.6, PB), McKenna Spaulding (81^st, 20:03.1), Annie Kate McDermott (90^th, 20:15.4), Sophia Jeffers (91^st, 20:16.0), Megan Haire (103^rd, 20:43.2, PB), Kendall Jarvis (107^th, 20:46.3, PB), Maddie Bennett (133^rd, 21:41.4, PB), Isabelle Johnson (144^th, 22:21.4), Marinda Walls (147^th, 22:45.2), Grace Krell (168^th, 25:08.5) and Cami Vincent (171^st, 25:31.7) rounded out the remaining Milligan harriers.

"The margins are so small at the top of this sport," said head coach Chris Layne, "and like some of these other programs, we were missing a few key folks today, so I am really proud of how we competed and finished off both of these races. It came down to the last loop for the women. You can't do this without the effort from our folks up front, but this team also relies heavily on its depth and so many different folks stepped up today."

Two weeks from today, the AAC Cross Country Championships will be held in Knoxville at this same course at Sequoyah Park. The Milligan women will be competing for their fifth straight AAC title on Nov. 8.