LEXINGTON, Va. – Day two of the VMI Invitational for Milligan University men's and women's indoor track & field squads yielded strong results after an impressive first day on Friday in Lexington, Va.
"It was a great meet for both squads," said head coach Chris Layne. "There were a number of strong performances, and these reps are invaluable as we move forward. I am really impressed with where we are at this point in the season. For the most part we'll start to get everyone prepared for conference in a little over two weeks."
Saturday started off with a pair of Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) standards being met by freshman Douglas Cornfield (4:33.02) and sophomore Aaron Gottlied (4:34.46, PB) in the men's Mile.
In the women's Mile, Alyssa Bearzi won the event with a time of 5:07.18, which is a new personal-best mark for the accomplished harrier. Her time was just a second off the national qualifying standard. McKenzie Fitzgerald placed eighth at 5:21.18, which is her new personal-best time, as well.
Aaron Vaughn then posted his indoor personal-best time of 50.94 in the men's 400m, which gave him an eighth-place finish overall.
After reaching the final in the men's 60m Hurdles in the prelims on Friday, Brayden Simpson improved even more on Saturday, placing fourth in the race with a time of 8.39. That run was just shy of his personal-best clip.
"I think our sprints, jumps and hurdles crew took several steps forward this weekend," opined Layne.
In the men's 800m, Milligan boasted the top three finishers, as Luis Peralta picked up the win with a 1:52.46. Bryn Woodall finished just behind him at 1:52.51 and Sylas Chambers placed third in 1:53.90.
Romario Taylor had a strong performance in the men's 200m, as he placed ninth with a time of 22.01. Kaleb Spears also sprinted to a new personal-best time of 23.33.
In the men's 3k, Winston Telford took the win in the event with a stellar 8:31.98 clip. Milligan's Josh Osorio came away with a personal-best time in the event, notching a 9:05.02.
Ellen-Mary Kearney became the Milligan record holder in the women's 3k with her lifetime-best mark of 9:35.84, crushing the previous mark of 9:45.45, which was set by Caitlin Dominy last season. Kirsten Geary also made her indoor season debut for the Buffs, placing sixth with a 10:19.56 clip, just shy of her personal-best time.
"I'm extremely pleased for Ellen-Mary," Layne stated. "She has shown tremendous resilience when things haven't been perfect and it's really starting to pay off and we're going to see more of what she's capable of in the future."
Milligan will return to the Virginia Military Institute on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, when they attend the VMI Winter Relays as their final tune-up before the AAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 9-10 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
