Milligan College, Tenn. (Jan. 26, 2009) --- Milligan College Head Coach Chris Layne announced the addition of seven male distance runners to the 2009-2010 cross country and track and field squads late last week.
Osceola High School's Jeffrey Surran (Kissimmee, Fla.), Greeneville High School's Matt Murphy (Greeneville, Tenn.), and Daniel Boone's Justin Little (Gray, Tenn.) highlight the list of commitments for Milligan's men, who finished 16th at the 2008 NAIA Cross Country National Championships after not cracking the top 25 national rankings all season long.
Surran owns a 5k personal best of 16:22 and a mile personal best of 4:27. He finished 29th at the 2008 Florida 4A State Cross Country Championships. Murphy, who ran a personal best 16:44 at the Foot Locker South Cross Country Championships, finished 42nd at the 2008 Tennessee State Cross Country Championships. Little, a middle-distance standout on the track for Daniel Boone Coach Len Jeffers, owns a cross country 5k best of 16:54.
Dobyns-Bennett senior Walter Hendrickson (Kingsport, Tenn.), 56th at the 2008 AAA Tennessee State Cross Country Meet, and Virginia High's Jack Quesenberry (Bristol, Va.), who finished 63rd at the Virginia A State Cross Country Championships will join Surran, Murphy, and Little.
Happy Valley senior Chris Richardson (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and Ethan Johnson, a home-schooled student from Norris, Tenn., have also committed to run for the Buffs.
"The combination of potential in these young men and the Milligan tradition of developing athletes will make for an exciting four years with this recruiting class," commented Layne. "It's an honor for us to see local talent staying closer to home to compete collegiately."
Milligan looks to return all but one distance runner from this year's team, as senior captain Will Frye (Pulaski, Va.) will graduate in May.