The Milligan Track and Field team was a force to be reckoned with in Lexington, Virginia this weekend at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) Winter Relays. Over the course of the two-day competition, the Milligan Buffaloes secured five wins, along with eight top-five finishes.
Not only did the Buffs perform well as a team, but individually the Buffs made serious strides with 10 athletes recording personal bests.
The Lady Buffs’ distance runners put on a winning performance. On Saturday, Junior Avery Dewolf finished first in the 3k with a personal best of 9:57.91. Dewolf’s new 3k time is now the fastest in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes ( NAIA).
“The meet had a really great energy. Overall, it was a great first race for everyone,” Dewolf said. “Coming off of base training, it’s difficult to tell where your fitness is, so I was happy with our work paying off so early in the season.”
Dewolf continued, “I think it says a lot about our team that we can come away with top performances even when race opportunities are so uncertain these days.”
Teammates Bekah Owen and Gabrielle Mardis finished shortly after Dewolf. Owen finished with a personal best of 10:13.46, earning her the fourth place position in the 3k, and Mardis finished in seventh place.
Kylie Wood ran an indoor personal best in the 200 meter with a time of 27.24.
The men’s team also posted great times. Nathan Baker won the 3k with a time of 8:52.28, and Pablo Rivas finished third with a personal best of 9:03.21. Tim Thacker finished third in the mile and second in the 800 meter.
Matt Huff recorded two personal bests this weekend. One on Friday in the 1k, and then another on Saturday in the mile.
“I think factors such as good team chemistry mixed with great coaching plays a major role for our success,” said Huff. “One of our key things we emphasize is how to be ‘ready when it counts’ and so even though we were coming off of winter break, many of us still felt prepared.”
Milligan proved to be tough competition off the track as well. Allie Rose, Kade Hoilman, and Ellie Ayers all posted personal bests in the shot put.
Up next for the Buffs is the Buccaneer Invitational and CIU Rams February Invitational. Milligan will send split squads to these meets, and they will compete Feb, 5-6. Then on Feb. 12-13, the Milligan Buffaloes will head back to VMI for the VMI Classic.
Headline photo: Milligan runner Avery Dewolf competing in the Virginia Military Institute Winter Relay. Photo credit: Milligan University XC/TF Twitter Account (@milliganxctf).