Buffs, Lady Buffs record three national marks and 16 personal bests at Western Carolina

Cullowhee, N.C. (April 17, 2009) --- Milligan College men's and women's track teams both had outstanding showings Friday during day two of the Western Carolina Invitational, which also served as the AAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Buff senior Aaron Wood (Aurora, Colo.) ran a lifetime best and national qualifying mark of 1:52.22 to win a competitive men's 800-meter race. Freshman Tanner Payne (Georgetown, Tenn.) set a collegiate best mark and won the AAC title in the discus throw. Payne also heaved a personal best in the javelin, while senior Jamal Phelps (Chicago, Ill.) placed second in the triple jump. Freshman Dwayne Jordan (Kissimmee, Fla.) finished fourth in the men's 400-meter race, while freshman Brendan Hawkins (Limestone, Tenn.) grabbed back to back personal bests in the 1500-meters and 800-meters. Sophomores Nathan Bordelon (Kissimmee, Fla.) and James Butcher (Marietta, Ga.) and freshman Stephen Feryus (Fallston, Md.) ran to lifetime best performances in the 5000-meter run. Sophomore Dan Moyer (Topeka, Kan.) also tossed a personal record in the men's shot put.

Leading Milligan's women Friday afternoon were freshman Gillian Giffen (Knoxville, Tenn.) and senior Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.). Giffen ran away from her 5000-meter competitors the last 200 meters to secure the win in a new conference record time of 18:35. Giffen also recorded a lifetime best in the 1500-meters to secure a first, second and third place 1500-meter sweep for the Lady Buffs. Talbert, a national finalist in the 1500-meters in 2008, won the women's 1500-meters in 4:45, then came back an hour later to run a national qualifying mark of 2:17 in the 800-meters.  Sophomore Kayli Bates (Wise, Va.) won the AAC women's 100-meter hurdles, while sophomore Tara Moore (Church Hill, Tenn.) took the AAC title in the women's discus throw. Moore also finished second in the javelin throw. Senior Nicole Moore (Boise, Idaho) finished second in the women's 1500-meters and sophomore Lili Zaldana (Bristol, Tenn.) bounced back after Thursday's 10,000-meter win to finish third in the women's 5000-meters.

"Our primary focus each and every time we compete is individual performances, so judging by the number of personal bests, we have to be extremely pleased with what we accomplished in Cullowhee," said Milligan's head track and field coach Chris Layne.

Milligan's men finished third overall in the AAC scoring. Union College won the team title. On the women's side, Milligan finished in the runner-up position with 94 total points. King College took the team title.