Milligan no. 4 in season ending poll

MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TENN. (Nov. 6, 2007) --- Despite dominating the Region XII Cross Country Championships this past Saturday at Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethton, Tenn., the Milligan College women's cross country team dropped to no. 4 in the last national poll of the season. Canada 's Simon Fraser stayed at no. 1, while Cedarville (Ohio) moved to no. 2 and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) held down the no. 3 spot.

"These are all excellent programs year in and year out, and we're happy to keep this type of company whether we're no. 2 or no. 4," said head coach Chris Layne. "Our women know they're right in the thick of things so now it's about racing well on November 17th."

The Lady Buffs turned in a perfect performance last weekend, taking the top six spots in the race, and were again led by senior MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) who took the individual title with a time of 18:36.

"MacKenzie had a pretty nasty cold all week, and her role last Saturday was to get the race going up front, so she sacrificed a little with regard to running fast," said Layne.

Sophomore Rebecca McDowell (Mechanicsville, Va.) used a new lifetime best time of 18:42 to finish second, while junior Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.) followed closely behind McDowell in 18:48. Senior Erika Fox (Gambrills, Md.) and junior Ashley Pearce (St. Cloud, Fla.) rounded out the Lady Buffs top five.

On Tuesday, the NAIA released the final list of team and individual qualifiers that will compete for a national title in Kenosha , Wisconsin on November 17th, and joining Milligan's women will be men's individual qualifiers Benjamin Ronoh (Mogogoseik, Kenya) and Wegene Degefa (Rochester, N.Y.).