Lady Buffs sixth at NAIA National Championship
LOUISVILLE, KY (November 18, 2006) --- The Milligan College women\'s cross country team made history Saturday morning at the 51st NAIA Cross Country National Championships in Louisville, Ky.
The Lady Buffs, who entered the meet ranked 8th nationally, finished sixth overall, the highest-ever finish by a Milligan team at a national championship.
\"I expected us to run well because this is what we prepared for all season,\" said junior captain Kortney Goulds (Johnson City, Tenn.)
Milligan finished with 239 points, 48 points behind 5th place finisher Malone (Ohio) College. Canada\'s Simon Fraser University won their second straight women\'s title with a total score of 73 points despite losing their number one runner the morning of the race. Ceadarville (Ohio) University was 19 points behind Simon Fraser in second while Concordia (Calif.) University and Black Hills (S.D.) State finished third and fourth respectively with scores of 143 and 187.
For the third time in the last four races, junior MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) led Milligan over the 5,000-meter course with a 36th place finish in a time of 18:48. She finished just six places shy of NAIA All-American honors.
\"I really ran for our women today because I know how hard they\'ve worked before I arrived at Milligan,\" said LaBonte.
Following LaBonte across the finish line was freshman Rebecca McDowell (Mechanicsville, Va.) with a 41st place finish in 18:53.
\"The course ran pretty slow today because of all the rain Louisville received this past week, so all things relative, MacKenzie and Rebecca had lifetime best runs today,\" said Milligan head coach Chris Layne.
The Lady Buffs started the season ranked eighth in the pre-season poll, but dropped as far as No. 11 before climbing back to eighth in the season\'s final poll after winning their fourth straight Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC)/NAIA Region XII title.
\"We believed another step was possible going in to nationals, but its been more competitive at the top all season, so it was a matter of who stepped up on the day,\" said Layne. \"I\'m really happy for our women.\"
Sophomore Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.) finished third for Milligan, while senior Marta Zimon (Lodz, Poland) and Goulds rounded out the Lady Buffs top five scorers.
In the men\'s 8,000-meter run, sophomore Will Frye (Pulaski, Va.) finished 143rd overall, while senior Jair Collie (Johnson City, Tenn.) improved on last years national finish to cross the line in 152nd. 255 men toed the starting line in the men's national championship.
\"The men\'s course was completely chewed up after the women raced so Jair and Will\'s times really didn\'t reflect how well they both ran today,\" said Layne.
Virginia Intermont won their third straight men\'s team title with their score of 67. Virginia Intermont was 69 ahead of second place Concorida (Calif.) University.