Revised on November 21st, 2022
While winning a national championship at any collegiate level is an impressive feat, to hold nine after a single year is an achievement within itself. In Milligan’s history, they have won 31 national championships between their individuals and teams in the NAIA and USA cycling divisions. Nine of those championships occurred last season during the 2021-2022 season.
Milligan’s championship run began in November 2021 when the cross country team swept the NAIA 2021 Cross Country National Championships. Both the men’s and women’s teams took home the national team title. These were the first two cross-country team national championships in the school’s history. The men won the event in a landslide victory with an overall score of 115, with the second place Montreat College capping out at a score of 175. The women won their event with an overall score of 122, right in front of second place, the University of St. Francis with a score of 141. Junior Alyssa Bearzi brought Milligan a third national title after taking home the NAIA individual title for women. She finished the meet in first place with a 5k time of 18:14.
Junior swimmer Stephen Gilbert made history when he secured Milligan’s fourth national championship in March. Gilbert is the first swimmer at Milligan to win a national championship, setting the NAIA record in the 400-yard individual medley with a time of 3:51:08. He broke the previous record by almost a full second.
Five of the nine national titles came from Milligan’s USA cycling team. In May, seniors Megan Jastrab and Madeline Bemis, junior Marjie Bemis, and sophomore Madelline Mendoza captured the second national team trail championship in school history. These Lady Buffs navigated the nearly 22-mile route in 51:10.47 to finish over 18 seconds ahead of second-place Fort Lewis College of Colorado.
Senior Ama Nsek made history as Milligan’s first men’s cycling event national champion as he claimed the men’s criterium national title. He finished with a time of 1:18:58 over the 60-mile race.
Megan Jastrab grabbed three individual national titles over the course of that same weekend. She claimed titles in the women’s road race, criterium, and omnium.
To stay updated on Milligan’s current athletic season, visit https://milliganbuffs.com/landing/index.
Headline Photo from Milligan Buffs