BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. – On Saturday afternoon, Milligan University's men's and women's outdoor track and field programs closed out day three of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships. It was a historic afternoon for the Buffs, as both the men's and women's teams came away with the sweep of the championships. History was made with the pair of titles, as Milligan became the first school in the AAC to sweep all six championships across men's and women's cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field. The Buffs captured three individual titles on day three on the way to the sweep.

Brayden Simpson and Kenny Carlton wasted no time finding their way to the podium in the men's 110m hurdles to open day three, capturing the top two spots in the event. Simpson claimed his second AAC title of the meet in 14.78, while Carlton crossed in a personal-best 15.07 for second. Landon York added a fifth-place finish in 16.34. Reese Pesterfield (8th) and Jordyn Winegar-Collis (10th) rounded out the Milligan effort.

On the women's side in the 100m hurdles, the Buffs added nine team points behind Aleah Soderman's third-place finish in 15.27 and a sixth-place finish from Jade Mansogo.

The 800m was next for the men, and the Buffs piled up 22 team points behind five scoring finishes. Luis Peralta led the way with a runner-up effort in 1:51.14, clearing the NAIA "B" qualifying standard. Marti Molins Rallo took third in 1:52.84, and Carter Windham followed in fourth at 1:53.46. Freshman Evan Holbrook added a personal-best 1:56.59 for sixth, and Aaron Gottlied placed 10th.

The women's 800m was more of the same for the Milligan distance corps, as the Buffs swept the top four spots and racked up 31 team points. Ellen-Mary Kearney took her third event title of the meet in 2:13.87, also clearing the NAIA "B" standard. McKenzie Fitzgerald crossed in second at 2:19.26, with Gabriella Hoover (2:20.96) and Karly Wilhjelm (2:22.01) following in third and fourth, both setting personal bests in the process. Sophia Jeffers added a seventh-place personal-best 2:23.71, while Kaylee Coll (10th), Isabelle Johnson (11th, SB) and Joanna Halterman (13th) rounded out the strong Milligan showing.

The men's 5000m saw Caleb Greene lead the way for the Buffs, finishing third in 14:59.07. Luke Kennedy added a seventh-place finish, and Bryson Lewis followed in eighth. Joseph Abbott rounded out the Milligan effort with a personal best.

In the women's 5000m, Kirsten Geary reached the podium with a third-place finish in 18:09.16. Abbie Page-Jones added a personal-best eighth-place finish, and Maddie Bennett followed in 10th with a personal best of her own.

Three Milligan men capped multi-event days with their 4x400m relay leg, as Kaleb Spears, Brayden Simpson, Carter Windham and Luis Peralta combined to take third in 3:16.10 for six team points.

The Milligan women added five team points in the 4x400m relay, as Aleah Soderman, Jade Mansogo, Kaylee Coll and Ellen-Mary Kearney took fourth in 4:07.10.

In the men's discus, the Milligan throwers stole the show, going one-two in the event. Trevor Sinard claimed the AAC title with a throw of 51.83m, clearing the NAIA "B" qualifying standard and coming up just 0.17 meters shy of the "A" mark. Landry Buckles followed with a personal-best launch of 49.29m for second place. Dillon Handshey added a 10th-place finish, and Konnor Kilgore placed 16th to round out the Milligan effort.

Kacey Webb reached the podium in the women's discus with a third-place throw of 38.89m.

Trailing entering the day, the Buffs delivered the climb both squads needed to claim the AAC team titles and complete the historic season sweep. The men finished atop the standings with 190.5 points, well clear of runner-up Truett-McConnell (142) and third-place Montreat (105). On the women's side, Milligan tallied 155.5 points to edge out Columbia (137) and Brenau (134.5) for the title. Next up, will be the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, set for May 20-22 in Asheville, N.C.