Milligan University cross-country teams won the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championships on Nov. 7 in Knoxville. The win was the women’s sixth and the men’s seventh straight AAC title.
Ellen-Mary Kearney dominated the women’s field, finishing the six-kilometer course in 19:59.07, a new course, meet and school record. Kearney became the first in AAC history to run the 6K championship in under 20 minutes. This win marked her third AAC individual title in her four years at Milligan. She was named AAC Women’s Runner of the Year.
“I was over the moon to run such a big PB and get the win,” Kearney said. “This season I’ve just been running faster and faster, and so I’m really excited to see what I can do at nationals.”
Milligan freshman Annabelle Stewart placed third with a personal best of 20:57.57. Stewart was named the conference’s Newcomer of the Year. Kerigan Lewis was named AAC Women’s Cross-Country Freshman of the Year after finishing ninth. Overall, the women’s team ran 14 individual personal bests and took home nine combined first- and second-team honors. The team also swept the All-Freshman squad.
“The AAC Championship is a great opportunity for us to show our strength and depth as a team,” Kearney said. “It’s such a fun meet where we show our team spirit and work together to win.”
On the men’s side, Bryson Lewis was the best Milligan runner, finishing in third. He ran the eight-kilometer race in 25:03.43. Milligan’s Josh Hale, Winston Telford and Aaron Gottlied rounded out the top six. After finishing in 11th, Rowen Moser-Bryan was named AAC Men’s Cross-Country Freshman of the Year. The men’s team ran four personal bests and had seven members named All-AAC honorees.
“Another really strong pack effort from our men,” head coach Chris Layne said. “We’re swapping spots up front, but you know you can count on that core group to be there every time we race.”
Layne won Staff of the Year for the seventh consecutive year.
The cross-country teams will compete in the NAIA Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday, Nov. 21.
Cover Photo: Men’s team cheer at Eli Cramer Invitational, Sep.26 in Bristol (by McKenzie Fitzgerald)
