Milligan College, Tenn. (August 27, 2009) --- The Milligan College men's and women's cross country teams both received top 25 recognition in the NAIA during the first rankings of the season. This marks the first time both teams have been ranked in the top 25 at the same time.
The Lady Buffs, who are coming off of a back-to-back top five finishes in the NAIA Cross Country National Championships, are currently ranked 12th in the recent poll released by the NAIA.
Milligan returns its top two runners on the women's side in sophomore Gillian Giffen (Knoxville, Tenn.) and junior Lili Zaldana (Bristol, Tenn.). Giffen, last year's AAC Runner of the Year, and Zaldaņa were the highest Lady Buff finishers at nationals last season, as they were 24th and 27th, respectively.
The Milligan men are ranked 21st in the nation following their 16th place finish in the 2008 national championships, which was the programs highest finish thus far.
The men will be led by sophomore All-American Austin Ellis (Charlottesville, Va.) who finished 15th at last year's championships with a personal best 8K time of 24:55. Also joining Ellis is senior outdoor finalist Aaron Wood (Auroa, Colo.).
"I think our programs have earned this respect, but we have to back it up come championship time this November," commented Head Coach Chris Layne.
Both the Buffs and Lady Buffs were ranked first in the pre-season Appalachian Athletic Conference polls that were released on Monday. Last season the Buffs and Lady Buffs swept the AAC, with the women winning their sixth straight title and the men winning their first since 2003.
The running Buffs and Lady Buffs open up their 2009 campaign at Sycamore Shoals State Park on Sept. 4, as they host the Stampede at the Shoals. The women's 4K event is scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m., with the men's 6K to begin at 6 p.m.
For more information regarding the Buffs and Lady Buffs, click here.
For a complete list of the men's NAIA rankings, click here.
For a complete list of the women's NAIA rankings, click here.
For a complete list of the men's AAC rankings, click here.
For a complete list of the women's AAC rankings, click here.
