During the last two weeks several winter sports competed in national championship tournaments.
Indoor Track and Field
Seven Milligan athletes competed at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships hosted in Gainesville, Florida, from March 5 through 7.
In a time of 9:45.69, Ellen-Mary Kearney ran to the national champion title in the 3000 m race. The women’s distance medley relay team finished in third place. The team, consisting of Kaylee Coll, Aleah Soderman, McKenzie Fitzgerald and Kearney, finished in a time of 11:42.60 to set a Milligan record. Marti Molins Rallo placed second in the men’s 800m prelims, and in a time of 1:51.07 in the final session, he was able to place as runner-up to the national champion. Luis Peralta, able to improve that position from prelims, finished third in the 600m race.
Overall, the men’s team scored 14 points, finishing 15th and the women’s team placed 18th, scoring 17 points.
Basketball
Milligan’s women’s basketball team competed in the NAIA National Tournament on March 13 against the No. 4 seeded Loyola New Orleans University Wolves. The competition was hosted at Georgetown College. Loyola New Orleans took the lead early, and the Buffs fell behind but fought to tie the score in later portions of the game. Nonetheless, Milligan fought but could never regain the lead, and the Wolves won with a final score of 87-79, advancing to the second round.
Cycling
In the “Valley of Tears” in Turkey, Texas, the Milligan University cycling squad competed in the first-ever edition of the USA Cycling Collegiate Gravel National Championships. The athletes competed on a 50-mile course that was mostly made up of gravel, dirt, and deep sand, with only five miles of pavement. Milligan’s Kaya Schroeder finished in the women’s race in a time of 2:54:07, leaving 19 starters behind her. Kate Bittenbender is the other Milligan starter, placing 13th with a time of 3:13:02. Milligan’s best male starter was Jack Flippin, finishing in 14th place.
Combined scores of the men’s and women’s teams for Milligan resulted in a third-place omnium standing.
Next up are the men’s and women’s bowling national championships on March 19 in Michigan.
Photo: Women’s Basketball team at NAIA National Tournament on March 13 at Georgetown College (provided by Romy Boss).
