Nine Buffs, Lady Buffs featured in national rankings

Milligan College, Tenn. (Apr. 22, 2008) - -- The NAIA outdoor track and field national rankings released this week feature nine Milligan athletes ranked in fourteen different spots. Four Lady Buffs currently rank in the top ten nationally.

Leading the way is sophomore distance standout Rebecca McDowell (Mechanicsville, Va.). McDowell ranks fifth nationally in the half-marathon with a time of 1:26.17 and also ranks 12th nationally in the 10,000 meters with a time of 37:47.41. Her 10,000 meter time is a new Milligan and Appalachian Athletic Conference record set at last week's championship in Banner Elk, N.C.

Senior All-American MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.) sits in the number six spot in this week's 3,000 meter steeplechase rankings with a school and AAC record of 11:17.86, also set last weekend in Banner Elk. LaBonte currently ranks 17th nationally in the 5,000 meters with a time of 18:01.11.

Junior All-American Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.), who is coming off AAC wins in the 800 meters and 1500 meters, ranks ninth nationally in the 1,500 meters in a new personal best and school record time of 4:38.09. Talbert is also ranked 18th in the women's 800 meters with a mark of 2:15.75.

For the Buffs, junior Wegene Degefa (Rochester, N.Y.) is currently ranked tenth nationally in the men's half-marathon with a time of 1:11.43, while junior Jamal Phelps (Chicago, Ill.) ranks 12th nationally in the men's triple jump with a mark of 46' 4.75".

Other athletes ranked in the national top twenty include senior Erika Fox (Gambrills, Md.), who ranks 13th in the women's half-marathon, and junior Ashley Pearce (St. Cloud, Fla.), who ranks 20th in the women's 10,000 meters. Juniors Will Frye ( Pulaski, Va.) and Emily Schmitt (Avon, Ind.) have also earned national rankings in the men's and women's half-marathon, respectively, and have punched their ticket to St. Louis for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in late May.

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