On Saturday morning, the Milligan University women's cross country team traveled east to Brevard, N.C. to compete in the Brevard XC Classic 5K hosted by Brevard College.
It was a massive day for the Lady Buffs, as they produced the meet's top nine times and scored a perfect 15 for the meet.
"We started the morning off with our charter bus breaking down," said head coach Chris Layne, "so I think it's important to note how well these student-athletes handled a little adversity because they really didn't have a lot of time to think. It knocked all of us off our normal schedule when it comes to how we operate pre-race."
Ellen-Mary Kearney posted a 17:44.4 to lead the charge for Milligan, grabbing a race title in the process.
Alyssa Bearzi had the bounce-back race that coach Chris Layne predicted after the Firetower Project Run, placing second and crossing the line in 17:46.7. First-year Buff, Kirsten Geary rounded out the Milligan podium with a third-place run in 17:48.7, matching her outstanding performance from last weekend.
Hannah Brown was the lone finisher in the 19th minute of the race, clocking in at 18:49.5 to finish fourth overall.
Gracie Franklin (19:02.8), Ashlyn Haas (19:05.5) and Anna Jones (19:12.5) finished fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. They accounted for the remaining counting scores for the Lady Buffs.
Patricia Barrera missed seventh by hundredths of a second, posting the same 19:12.5 time that Jones did. Karly Wilhjelm had a 19:15.1 clip to finish ninth and was the final finisher of the string of nine straight Milligan runners.
Four additional Milligan harriers posted top-20 finishes. Natalie Fellers (11th, 19:38.2), McKenna Spaulding (14th, 19:47.1), Hope Krell (15th, 19:51.1) and Cameron Walker (17th, 20:01.4) finished in the event's top 17 racers.
"I don't care where you're running, perfect scores don't come easy," Layne stated, "so that was really neat to see. It was a different dynamic to find yourself racing your teammates for a lot of the race, but we wanted them to embrace this race and put an emphasis on getting the most out of the opportunity - they did that."
The impressive race precedes a two-week hiatus for the Buffs, as they prepare to attend the ECU Pirate Invitational on Friday, Oct. 4 in Greenville, N.C.
