HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Friday morning, the No. 2 Milligan University women's cross-country program split competitors between the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Ala., and the Brevard Invitational in Brevard, N.C. The Southern Showcase was hosted by Jacksonville State University, while the Brevard Invitational was hosted by Brevard College.

The Lady Buffaloes finished 22nd out of 31 teams in a field that featured programs from multiple collegiate levels and were the highest-finishing NAIA team among the three NAIA schools competing at the Southern Showcase. At the Brevard Invitational, Milligan placed second out of five teams, trailing NCAA Division I USC Upstate and finishing ahead of NAIA Columbia College, which placed third.

"First off," director of cross country and track & field Chris Layne said, "you have to give these kids a lot of credit. Everyone is managing it, but it's no fun training and racing in this heat and humidity."

Southern Showcase

At the Southern Showcase, Milligan had six runners compete in the women's 5K Invitational alongside a field loaded with NCAA Division I talent, including Alabama, Clemson, Mississippi State, Auburn and Baylor, among others, in humid conditions.

Joanna Halterman made her junior season debut in the featured event and was Milligan's top finisher, placing 62nd out of 309 runners. She crossed the finish line in 18:04.7, setting a new personal-best mark.

Karly Wilhjelm was the next Milligan runner to cross the line and was also making her season debut. Wilhjelm finished just three spots outside the top 100, setting the tone for her season with a time of 18:29.1.

After making her season debut earlier this year at Covered Bridge, Kelsey Burleson (179th) returned to the course and improved her 5K time by nearly a minute, with a finishing mark of 19:15.1. Ella Hoover (183rd) was close behind, finishing in 19:18.2.

The final scoring mark for the Buffs came from Kerigan Lewis, who placed 213th and clocked a time of 19:39.1 in her season debut.

Freshman Rylee McGuire supplied the Buffs' non-scoring finish, placing 238th with a time of 19:51.8, more than 30 seconds faster than the 20:52.8 she ran at Covered Bridge.

Overall, Milligan placed 22nd out of 31 teams with a team score of 624 points.

Layne was pleased with his team's effort.

"For the women crossing the line in Alabama, we accomplished a lot today. We were without two of our top five (Annabelle Stewart only raced through the mile as planned)," Layne said. "So we'll look a lot different down the road. Joanna had a huge run, and the rest of our women really battled."
 
Brevard Invitational

At the Brevard Invitational, Milligan had seven competitors in the race. The Buffs were led by McKenna Spaulding, who finished seventh in 21:29.7 after a group of USC Upstate runners claimed the top six positions. Spaulding's mark was more than 20 seconds faster than her season-opening performance at the Covered Bridge meet.

Sunny Eorgan (15th, 22:05.6), Kyra Couch (16th, 22:11.8) and Hope Krell (17th, 22:13.8) finished consecutively while running as a pack, recording the second, third and fourth scoring marks for the Buffs.

Freshman Millie Lovett rounded out Milligan's scoring five in her collegiate debut, placing 22nd with a time of 23:18.4.

Megan Haire and Cami Vincent each made their season debuts and provided the non-scoring finishes for Milligan.

The Buffs finished second out of five teams with 55 points, 28 points clear of third-place Columbia College.

"Brevard gave that crew the competitive environment they needed," Layne concluded, "and I hope that experience serves them well moving forward. Both Daniel and McKenna did a nice job leading their respective squads today."

The Lady Buffs will take a brief break before returning to the course on Oct. 9 in Charlotte, N.C., for the Royals Cross Country Challenge, hosted by NCAA Division I member Queens University.

Southern Showcase RESULTS
Brevard RESULTS