Lady Buffs claim six All-American honors

By Jeff Birchfield
Johnson City Press

Johnson City, Tenn. (Mar. 8, 2008) --- Milligan College was able to score five points in the women's meet with five runners earning All-American status.

Brittany Bales was a double All-American for Milligan after finishing fifth in the 1,000 and being a part of a sixth-place Distance Medley Relay team. Her 1,000 time of 3:01.11 was nearly 2 1/2 seconds slower than an effort in the preliminary round a day before as it was tougher to fight through the crowd.

“I got boxed in a couple of times and almost tripped,” said Bales. “I had to get a little aggressive to get around them and that hurt me a little bit. But, I'm proud of myself for doing what I was supposed to do to get All-American.”

She ended the day as the third leg of the DMR squad, which included Jacklyn Talbert, Kortney Goulds and Nicole Moore. With a strong 5:11 by Moore in the final 1,600, the Lady Buffs posted a time of 12:21.76.

Goulds, a hometown runner from Johnson City, became an All-American for a second consecutive year. She wasn't part of the team that qualified in preliminaries, but took over a spot by MacKenzie LaBonte, who raced in the 3,000 meters just an hour earlier.

“I don't know if I deserve this. MacKenzie raced yesterday and got the team to this point. I have to thank her and coach Chris Layne for having the confidence to put me in there.”

LaBonte had already achieved All-American status with a fifth-place finish in 3,000 at a time of 10:21.01. She ran as high as second midway through the race and fell no lower than sixth.

“Coach wanted me to go out conservatively,” said LaBonte, also a multiple-time All-American. “The race went out slow in the beginning, 5:37 at the mile. It switched gears, but I tried to keep up at the end. I'm glad I can say I'm an All-American. It's a nice way to end things.”

Talbert just missed becoming Milligan's third All-American as an individual. She finished seventh in the 1-mile with a time of 5:09.62. Rebecca McDowell, competing in the 5,000 meter final, finished ninth in a solid 18:09.99 to claim a spot in the top ten in the nation.