September 15, 2007 --- The number two ranked Milligan College women's cross country team braved rainy conditions Friday evening to finish second at the State Farm Open hosted by Appalachian State University. The University of North Carolina won the meet with 21 points, followed by the Lady Buffs with 47 points. App State, last years Southern Conference champs, finish third with 56 points.
"Lining up against two highly respected Division I programs was a great experience for both our men's and women's programs," said head coach Chris Layne.
For the second week in a row, senior MacKenzie LaBonte led Milligan's women with a fourth place overall finish in a time of 18:55 on the soggy 5k course. LaBonte used a late-race move to split the Tar Heels top five women.
Junior Jacklyn Talbert finished 8th overall in 19:11, while senior Erika Fox finished as the third Lady Buff with a time of 19:19. Junior Ashley Pearce ran 19:23, and sophomore Rebecca McDowell ran 19:26 to round out the Lady Buffs top five. Pearce finished 11th overall, while McDowell was 14th. Junior Nicole Moore finished as the sixth Lady Buff with a time of 19:45, while senior Brittany Bales ran seventh with a time of 20:06. Freshman and former Tennessee High standout Lili Zaldana had a strong showing in her collegiate debut with a time of 20:12.
Carolina's Megan Kaltenbach won the women's race in 18:00.
Milligan's men were again led by freshman Benjamin Ronoh, who finished second overall on the 4 mile course. Ronoh's time of 20:20 was three second back from Appalachian State senior Mark Maddox. Junior transfer Wegene Degefa was the second Buffalo across the finish line in a time of 21:07, good for 19th place overall.
Appalachian State took the men's title with 32 points. The Tar Heels finished a close second with 33 points, while Milligan finished third with 72 points.
Both squads are idle for three weeks before traveling to Orlando, Florida for the Disney Cross Country Classic on October 6th.
For complete results from the State Farm Open visit www.goasu.com