KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Friday morning, the No. 2-ranked Milligan University women's cross country team took part in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championships at Sequoyah Park in Knoxville, Tenn. in search of their sixth straight AAC title. They did that, and more, with several standout performances.

The first of Milligan's outstanding runs came from Ellen-Mary Kearney, who won her third AAC individual title in her four years as a cross country athlete at MU. This time around, though, she shattered course, meet and school records in the process. She clocked in at 19:59.0 to outpace the second-place finisher by over five seconds and become the first ever runner in conference history to run the 6k championship in under 20 minutes.

"Just a masterclass from Ellen-Mary today," Buffaloes' head coach Chris Layne said. "Heather is an outstanding athlete and EMK just never let her go and relied on her wheels to get her home - so happy for her as she continues to round into the athlete we all knew she was from day one."

Freshman wunderkind Annabelle Stewart posted a personal-best mark of 20:57.5 to place third in the race as an individual. She was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year and also was a member of the All-Freshman Team.

For Kirsten Geary and Alyssa Bearzi, fourth and fifth-place finishes helped them reach All-AAC First Team plaudits. It was Geary's PB at 21:07.0, while Bearzi achieved a season-best clip of 21:17.3.

Karly Wiljhelm was the first member of the All-AACSecond Team with her stellar seventh-place finish at 21:36.5 to set a new personal record. A trio of Buffs came in behind her in ninth, 10th and 11th. Kerigan Lewis (21:43.5), Patricia Barrera (21:46.8) and Gracie Franklin (21:57.3) clocked into those slots, with the latter two posting personal bests. All three joined Wilhjelm on the conference's Second Team. Lewis was bestowed the title of Freshman of the Year for her efforts.

McKenzie Fitzgerald also reached the Second Team plateau with a run of 22:00.3 as the final MU All-AAC First and Second Team member.

Kaylee Coll (15th, 22:08.3), Ana Canibano (17th, 22:18.9), Abbie Page-Jones (18th, 22:20.5), Gabriella Hoover (19th, 22:23.0), Ashlyn Haas (20th, 22:29.3), Shelby Vitous (22nd, 22:35.0), Sunny Eorgan (27th, 23:04.8) and Isabelle Johnson (29th, 23:16.3) all finished in the top 30. The Buffaloes swept the AAC's All-Freshman Team honors with Coll, Canibano, Hoover, Vitous and Eorgan joining Stewart and Lewis on that list.

Hope Krell (31st, 23:19.8), Cameron Walker (33rd, 23:34.0), Annie McDermott (34th, 23:37.3), McKenna Spaulding (36th, 23:38.2), Kendall Jarvis (50th, 24:45.5) and Carrington Clay (65th, 26:50.5) rounded out the list of the Buffs' runners.

The coaching staff for the Buffaloes, led by Chris Layne, won the Staff of the Year for the sixth year running.

"The Lady Buffs took another big step today," stated Layne. "They were fearless from the gun and really put together a complete team effort - that's what we were looking for. We'll need to be our best in two weeks and they showed a lot of fight today and that should continue to propel this team forward into Tallahassee."

Yet another championship is in the books for Milligan, but they now have their sights set on the NAIA Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Fla. on Nov. 21, where they look to win their second national championship, their first since 2021.

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