Milligan College Buffaloes

Milligan College, Tenn. (May 10, 2008) --- The Milligan College men's and women's track and field teams traveled to Clemson, S.C. Saturday for the Clemson Orange and Purple Classic. The event served as the final tune-up before both squads compete at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in St. Louis on May 22-24.

The Lady Buffs dominated the distance events with three wins and a second place finish. Senior MacKenzie LaBonte picked up her third straight win in the 3000 meter steeplechase and set a new school record and lifetime best in the process. LaBonte, an indoor All-American at 3000 meters, crossed the line in 11:15.49, more than twenty seconds ahead of second place finisher Emily Tangwar of USC-Upstate. Clemson's Maggie Bernard finished a distant third.

"MacKenzie has gone unchallenged in the last three meets so I'm excited to see what she'll do in a race with more of an environment conducive to running fast," said head coach Chris Layne.

In the women's 800 meters, junior All-American Jacklyn Talbert continued her hot streak with a win and a new personal best time of 2:15.19. Talbert turned back King College All-American Brittany Simmons and Georgia Tech's Amanda Montgomery as she ran away from the field with 150 meters to go. Junior Nicole Moore won the women's 1500 meters by almost ten seconds in a new personal best time of 4:49.75. Georgia Tech's Ashley Keck finished second. Sophomore Rebecca McDowell used a conservative race plan to combat the heat and finished second in the women's 5000 meters with a time of 18:44.70.

The lone Milligan male to compete was Buff freshman Mike Kimson. Kimson closed out his freshman campaign with an eighth place finish in the discus throw with a mark of 40.18 meters.

"Our results should give us a great deal of momentum heading to nationals, so I'm anxious to see these guys race again in two weeks," said Layne.

For complete results visit
http://clemsontigers.cstv.com/sports/m-track/stats/2007-2008/orangeandpurple2008.html .