The Milligan College women\'s cross country team backed up their preseason NAIA national ranking by dominating the field to win the Eye Opener Invitational in Spartanburg, S.C. Saturday morning. The Lady Buffs of Milligan entered the event ranked eighth in the NAIA preseason poll.
The Lady Buffs, who scored an impressive 19 points, turned back the field of 25 teams that included Furman (S.C.) University, the team picked to finish fourth in the Southern Conference this season.
Leading the way for Milligan was sophomore Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.) who won the women\'s race with a time of 19:28. Talbert was followed closely by a tight pack of teammates that included MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.), Kortney Goulds (Johnson City, Tenn.), and Rebecca McDowell (Mechanicsville, Va.) with times of 19:30, 19:32 and 19:36 respectively. Senior Marta Zimon (Lodz, Poland) rounded out Milligan\'s top five with her time of 20:11. She finished ninth overall in the individual standings. The Lady Buffs placed nine women in the top 20.
Also running well for Milligan was junior Erika Fox (Gambrills, Md.), with a time of 20:13 and a tenth place finish. Fox was followed closely by sophomore Ashley Pearce (St. Cloud, Fla.) in 20:21 and junior Brittany Bales (Kingsport, Tenn.) in a time of 20:22. Pearce and Bales both recorded lifetime bests on the day.
In the men\'s race, Milligan finished ninth in the 23 team field led by sophomore Will Frye (Pulaski, Va.) Frye finished 12th overall, followed by senior Jair Collie (Johnson City, Tenn.) in 22nd place and freshman Aaron Wood (Aurora, Colo.), who finished 36th in his first collegiate meet. Freshmen Ben Anderson (Baxter, Tenn.) and Matt McConnell (Johnson City, Tenn.) rounded out the Buffs top five.
\"We approached the men\'s and women\'s races with different tactics and both squads followed the plan," said Milligan head coach Chris Layne. "I am proud of the way they\'ve opened the 2006 season.\"
Both squads will travel to compete in the Western Carolina Open Friday, September 15, in Cullowhee, N.C. The women will race 4,000-meters, while the men will cover a four mile course.