KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 2-ranked Milligan University women's cross country squad attended the NAIA Appalachian Challenge 5k, hosted by Tennessee Wesleyan University on Friday morning at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville, Tenn. The Lady Buffs sprinted away from the competition, earning a first-place team finish over national contenders by 47 points. Four of Milligan's harriers finished in the top 10, and 11 of their 15 runners posted personal-best marks.
 
Ellen-Mary Kearney continues to show how special a runner that she is, with a school-record time of 16:58.3 to win the race outright as an individual. It is the first time in school history that a Buffaloes women's runner has finished a 5k in cross country in under 17 minutes.

"EMK has had a phenomenal fall of training and she has set the tone for what the other women did today, as well," stated head coach Chris Layne. "Arguably, this is one of the best performances I have ever seen from a Lady Buff squad."
 
Three more runners placed in the top 10, with freshman Annabelle Stewart posting a personal-best time of 17:25.7 to place fourth overall. Alyssa Bearzi came in at 17:36.8, which was just 12 seconds off her best ever time in the 5k. She placed sixth in the race. Also, Kirsten Geary ended up in eighth place with a 17:54.1 clip, which was her second-fastest time ever in a 5k event.
 
Karly Wilhjelm (12^th, 18:12.1) was the final counting finisher for MU, as her time equals a new personal-best showing in the 5k by eight seconds, besting the time she ran earlier this year at the Queen City Invite.
 
Patricia Barrera (13^th, 18:12.3) concluded the race alongside Wilhjelm, clocking another personal-best mark. Gracie Franklin's time of 18:24.2 gave her a personal-best showing, as she finished the race in 17^th place. Kerigan Lewis (18^th, 18:28.8) and McKenzie Fitzgerald (19^th, 18:30.2) also placed in the top 20 and tallied record times for themselves.

Ashlyn Haas placed 26^th with a time of 18:42.95, and was followed by Abbie Page-Jones (18:51.3, PB) and Gabriella Hoover (18:51.8, PB) in 30^th and 31^st, respectively.

Kaylee Coll (35^th, 18:57.3) and Shelby Vitous (36^th, 18:57.5, PB) closed the race out strong, and Isabelle Johnson came in 44^th with a time of 19:15.4, which was another personal-best mark.
 
"Just a really good day all the way around," said Layne. "You could see this coming in training and they just lined up with a lot of confidence and executed."
 
Two weeks from now, the Lady Buffs will be in search of their sixth Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship in a row on Nov. 7 back at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville.

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