Milligan College, Tenn. (September 1, 2010) --- The Milligan College Lady Buffs Cross Country team was ranked 13th nationally in the NAIA Women’s Cross Country Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ poll as announced by the national office.

“It's always a positive thing to get this type of recognition but a great deal of work needs to take place to back it up,” Head Coach Chris Layne said. “Ultimately, we want to be inside the top 10 when it's all said and done."

The Lady Buffs finished 11th last season at the national championships. Before that, they had recorded four straight top ten finishes, including a third and fourth in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

The women’s squad will be led by 2009 All-American Gillian Giffen (Knoxville, Tenn.). Giffen, who is a two-time AAC runner of the year, finished 21st individually at last year’s national championships. She is joined by three sophomores in Catie McMahon (Lanoka Harbor, N.J.), Leah Nelson (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Lauren Hubbard (Kingsport, Tenn.), who also participated in the 2009 NAIA Cross Country Championships.

In addition to the national ranking, the Lady Buffs were ranked first in the AAC, while the men’s team was picked second in the conference behind last season’s champion Bryan College. Milligan’s ladies are going for their eight straight conference crown, and the men are vying for their second title in three years.

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