MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (October 13, 2006) --- The Milligan College women's cross country ran to another strong finish at the Appalachian State University Blue Ridge Open Friday afternoon in Boone, N.C.
The Lady Buffs finished third overall in a field of 13 teams, only 14 points back from Vanderbilt (Tenn.) University who finished second. Appalachian State won the women\'s overall title with a strong run from Jenna Wrieden who covered the 5,000-meter course in a winning time of 17:54.
Milligan placed four women in the top-20 overall, and for the second week in a row were led by junior MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) who finished 10th in 19:07. Sophomore Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.) finished 15th with a time of 19:13, while freshman Rebecca McDowell (Mechanicsville, Va.) finished 16th in a new personal best time of 19:17. Senior Marta Zimon (Lodz, Poland) and junior Kortney Goulds (Johnson City, Tenn.) rounded out Milligan\'s top five.
Lady Buff junior Brittany Bales (Kingsport, Tenn.) also recorded a new lifetime best of 19:59.
Milligan\'s men were again led by sophomore Will Frye (Pulaski, Va.) Frye covered the 8,000-meter course in 27:27, followed closely by freshman Aaron Wood (Aurora, Colo.) who recorded a new personal best of 27:35.
The Buffs raced without the services of number three runner Josh Ferry (Bloomington, Ind.) and number six Matt McConnell (Johnson City, Tenn.) Both will return to action next week, at the Southeastern Classic, in Berea, Ky.
\"I wasn\'t sure how we\'d respond after a short week and the trip to Florida, but we really stepped up on the women\'s side and the men had three strong performances, said head coach Chris Layne.