Milligan shines at big meet

from staff reports

   LOUISVILLE, Kent. -- Milligan's men team finishes seventh in the strongest field of the year.
   There were 18 of the top 25 NAIA schools competing at the "Pre Nation" meet and Milligan, which is not in the Top 25, finished ahead of many that were in Louisville on Saturday.
   There were 27 men's team running in today's race.
   Milligan finished seventh right behind the University of Louisville, scoring 227 points. Malone College won the race with a total of 86 points.
   Senior Ryan Starr led the Buffs with a time of 26:07, which was 12th fastest on the day. Freshmen Chris Wright ran a personal best of 26:27 and finished in 17th place, while Shane Oakleaf finished third for the Buffs with a time of 27:18, which is also a personal best for Oakleaf.
   Brandon Talbert (Volunteer High) ran 27:38 to finish fourth for the Buffs. It was also a personal best for Talbert. Ted Dubois rounded out the top five for Milligan with a time of 28:48.
   "This is the best Top 5 in the history of Milligan College. All of our guys ran a very smart race and this show that we can run with anybody in the nation," says Coach Chris Layne.
   Freshmen Megan Lease, running in only her third race in college, finished a very impressive 5th overall with time of 19:11. This is the fastest 5K that Lease has ever ran.
   The women's team finished 11th out of 23 teams. University of Louisville won the race and Cedarville University, who is currently #1 in the NAIA, finished second.
   Lauren Gross finished in 58th place with a time of 20:49. Angela McGraw finished third for Milligan with a time of 21:05.