Kenosha, Wis. (Nov. 22, 2008) – The Milligan men’s and women’s cross country teams had outstanding finishes at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships held in Kenosha, Wis. The Lady Buffs finished fourth and the Buffs finished 16th in a field of the best teams in the country.
The Lady Buffs made Milligan history as they finished in the top ten at Nationals for the fourth consecutive year. They tied for fourth place with Malone College with 160 points. Azusa Pacific won with 66 points, Cedarville was runner-up with 97 points, and California State San Marcos finished third with 154 points.
The Buffs had their best ever finish at the National level as they placed 16th with 430 points. Malone College took the team title with 61 points and Azusa Pacific was the runner-up with 118 points. The Buffs turned some heads since they were ranked 34th in the final NAIA Men’s Cross Country Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
The women were phenomenal, placing five women under 18:45 in the difficult 5k race. Gillian Giffen (Knoxville, Tenn.) led the way for the Lady Buffs, finishing 24th in a personal best time of 18:14. Sophomore Lili Zaldaña (Bristol, Tenn.) lowered her personal best by 25 seconds to run 18:17, which placed her 27th. Freshman Sabrina Hall (Pulaski, Va.) lowered her previous personal best by about 40 seconds to finish 31st in a time of 18:23, and seniors Nicole Moore (Boise, Idaho) and Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.) rounded out the top five for the Lady Buffs with 36th and 42nd place finishes, respectively.
Freshman Austin Ellis (Charlottesville, Va.) was Milligan’s lone All-American, finishing 15th overall on the 8k course in a school record of 24:55, which was previously held by former Milligan runner Ben Ronoh. Ellis cut 70 seconds off his personal best to accomplish this incredible feat in his first year at Milligan.
Senior Wegene Degefa (Rochester, N.Y.) finished second for the Buffs, placing 63rd overall in a time of 25:55 and freshman Caleb Hughes (Christiansburg, Va.) lowered his personal best by 25 seconds to finish 99th in 26:25. Senior Will Frye (Pulaski, Va.) and junior Aaron Wood (Aurora, Co.) rounded up the top five for the Buffs with 116th and 139th place finishes, respectively.
“This was an incredible day for our teams and Milligan College,” said Head Coach Chris Layne. “I was extremely proud of the way both teams executed their race plans and used the momentum from our conference championships to take another huge step.”