Women’s Basketball
Milligan Women’s Basketball qualified for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournament during the regular season, claiming the best record in the Appalachian Athletic Conference at 18-4.
On March 8, 2017, the Lady Buffs travelled to Sioux City, Iowa, and competed against the eighth ranked Dakota Wesleyan University. The Lady Buffs went into the game ranked 24th in the country. The game was very competitive on both sides of the ball, but the Lady Buffs eventually fell in a 66-54 game.
The Lady Buffs got off to a great start as they had an early lead of 12-6, but Dakota Wesleyan went on a huge 25-0 run that stretched through a quarter and a half to lead 45-23 at halftime. After being down as many as 25 points in the third quarter, the Lady Buffs stormed back to cut the lead to only 11 points for Dakota Wesleyan with 2:06 to go in the game. But, the Lady Buffs would run out of time in the game to end up only losing by 12 points.
Leading the way for the Lady Buffs was MacKenzie Raizor with 10 points and four rebounds. Lindsee Price had nine points all from three-point range, seven rebounds and five assists. The leading rebounder for the Lady Buffs was Sarah Robinson, who had 10 rebounds and seven points.
The Lady Buffs had a remarkable season again this year as they finished with an overall record of 23-10 and a conference record of 18-4. The Lady Buffs will lose Kelly Barnett, Hannah Morgan, Kelsey Persinger, Lindsee Price, Kathryn Pryor and Hayley Wyrick due to graduation in a couple of months.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming
Milligan’s men’s and women’s swimming teams competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship for Swimming in Columbus, Ga., on March 3, 2017.
The Buffs qualified for the NAIA National Championship due to their strong performance at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Championship back in February. Swimming for the Buffs on the men’s side were Sterling Burnett, Grant Callahan, Gabe Hunigan, Matthew McFalls and Brian Sackett, Jr. On the women’s side were Alyssa Boyer, Sara Farmer, Anna Hathcock, Casey Knapp, Emily Mark and Isabel Siegel.
Callahan and Burnett led the way for the Buffs on the men’s side. Callahan broke the school record in the 100m freestyle with a time of 47.21 seconds. Burnett also swam in the 100m freestyle with a time of 47.84 seconds.
Leading the way for the Buffs on the women’s side was Sara Farmer in the 100m backstroke. Farmer finished with the 15th best time at 1:01.11.
Both of Milligan’s swimming teams had a great year with lots of records broken and times dropped. The Buffs will lose Grant Callahan, Gabe Hunigan and Casey Knapp due to graduation in a couple of months.
Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field
The Milligan men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams recently competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Championship, which Milligan hosted in Johnson City, Tenn.
Competing for the Buffs were Hannah Segrave in the 800m; Taylor Tafelsky in the mile run; JJ Robinson in the 3000m; Katlyn Haas in the 1000m; Tons Ferguson, Alijah Dunn, and Romeo Gibbs all in the Triple Jump; and Liz Maller in the shot put.
Segrave once again claimed the National title in the 800m with an impressive time of 2:07.49, which was almost seven seconds ahead of the second place runner. This title makes three national titles for her in the 800m in just four years.
Segrave responded to her recent title by saying, “It was more than just getting to the championship; my goals have continued to be centered around winning and running faster each year.” Segrave plans to stay in the area after graduation and said she is going to continue to work hard and see how far she can get in the sport.
Tafelsky repeated what he did last year at becoming an All-American and finished this year with a time of 4:17.27 in the mile run. Robinson finished in the top 10 with a time 10:20.71 in the 3000m run. Gibbs was the only triple jump athlete for the Buffs to finish in the top 10 with a distance of 14.16m. Maller competed in the shot put and finished in the top 20.
The Buffs had a strong performance in the indoor track and field national championships, and they are not slowing down as they move into the outdoor season.