Buffs, Lady Buffs set to host Milligan Relays

Milligan College, Tenn. (March. 20, 2009) --- The Milligan College men's and women's track teams will open the 2009 outdoor campaign when they play host to the Milligan Relays at Johnson City's Liberty Bell Track and Field Complex on Thursday, March 26.

Scheduled to compete are athletes from Bryan College, Carson-Newman College, East Tennessee State University, Guilford College, Lees-McRae, and Tusculum College. Milligan resurrected the event three years ago after a 55-year hiatus.

"We're grateful to have the opportunity to utilize a track and field facility like Liberty Bell. The complex offers everything we need to put on a competitive regional event," said Head Coach Chris Layne .

Both the men's and women's squads are coming off the indoor national championships three weeks ago but will look to the event as an opportunity to change gears to outdoors.

"We've had three solid weeks of training, and this meet gives us a chance to see where we stand early on," said Layne.

Leading the way for Milligan's women this outdoor season will be seniors Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.) and Nicole Moore (Boise, ID) . Talbert is coming off a trip to the finals of the 1500 meters at last year's outdoor national championships in St. Louis, while Moore seems to be on a hot streak coming off a ninth place finish and personal best in the mile at the indoor national championships.

Also expected to compete for the Lady Buffs are indoor national qualifiers freshman Gillian Giffen (Knoxville, Tenn.) , sophomore Chelsea Leavell (Springfield, Tenn.) , and sophomore Lili Zaldana (Bristol, Tenn.) . Leavell will compete in the shot put and discus, while Giffen and Zaldana will compete in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters.

On the men's side, indoor national 5k finalist freshman Austin Ellis (Charlottesville, Va.) will lead the Buffs. The freshman standout is scheduled to compete in the 3000 meters. Freshman Tanner Payne (Georgetown, Tenn.) will make his collegiate debut in the discus throw, while junior Aaron Wood (Aurora, Colo.) is expected to compete in the 800 meters and 1500 meters. Seniors Will Frye (Pulaski, Va.) and Wegene Degefa (Rochester, N.Y.) , who are training for the marathon at the outdoor national meet, are also expected to compete. Senior Jamal Phelps (Chicago, Ill.) is coming off an injury that kept him out of action for most of the indoor season but is slated to compete in the triple jump. Phelps qualified for last years indoor and outdoor national championships.

The meet starts at 2:45 p.m., and the last event is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. Full meet results will be available at www.slipstreamtiming.com immediately after the event.