With the coming of the new semester, not only do we have to adjust to our new spring schedules, but we have to adapt to training for track races instead of strictly the one distance in cross country. Always my favorite season (although this is my first experience with indoor track), track allows everyone to specialize in a running distance (or field event) that best fits them. Consequently, practices consist of people in different groups doing different workouts, rather than the whole team having one. We jumped right back into training as soon as school resumed. While it was great seeing everyone and running as a team again, Coach wasted no time in making sure we were running hard workouts and seeing who all had done their winter training. Needless to say, I have been quite sore the past few weeks that we have been back.

Since we have been back, we have already participated in two indoor track meets. Our first track meet was at Appalachian State in Boone, NC. While there were some bright spots such as Lili Zaldana winning the 3000 and Chelsea Leavell placing second and third in the weight throw and shot put respectively, as a whole, the team didn’t have that great of a showing. However, we were able to redeem ourselves in our meet last week, Niswonger Invitational.

Held at ETSU, Niswonger is one of the most competitive meets that we participate in and gives us a chance to run against more than 70 schools, including Division 1, that allow us to compete at a high level. Our team excelled and rose to the occasion. Twenty people on the men’s and women’s teams ran personal bests while at the meet. Additionally, we had some National Qualifiers. Yolanda Migoyo, one of the freshmen on the team qualified with a B standard time (Nationals has two qualifying times: A standard and B standard. Any individual team is allowed to take all A standard time qualifiers and three B standard qualifiers to Indoor Nationals) in the 400 meters and set the school record for that distance. Additionally France Makabu, another freshman, qualified with an A standard in the triple jump, and Lili also qualified with an A standard time in the 5000 meters. I also had the privilege of running on the Women’s Distance Medley Relay team which qualified for Nationals. The relay, which involves a 1200 meter leg, a 400 meter leg, an 800 meter leg, and a mile leg, consisted of me, Yolanda, Shanna Raines, and Lili, in that order. It was exciting getting to run with these wonderful ladies and we missed the A standard qualifying time by half a second. All in all, Niswonger was an excellent meet and it ended well with the whole team going to dinner together at Generous George’s Positive Pizza Place.

Wish us luck as we head to MTSU this weekend for our next meet. Go Lady Buffs!

It is hard to believe I am already a junior and halfway through conference play. We have had some great times together this season already. One of the highlights so far has been the basketball trip to Georgia. We stayed in an amazing Hilton hotel one night and got spoiled. We always have fun in the hotels. Our team has gotten along extremely well, so hanging out with each other has been fun. Of course there are always crazy things that happen like ice fights or trying to take an ice bath in the hotel bathroom (that didn’t turn out very well with me being one of the ones that tried it) just to name a couple things. Coach likes playing hard teams because it makes us better and challenges us. We didn’t have the best outcomes down in Georgia but they were extremely close games and we grew a lot as a team. The trips we have around Christmas always have fun built in too. We got to go see an Atlanta Hawks game and meet some players and the assistant coach for NJ Nets that used to be a Milligan student. It was definitely a fun time.

One of the most anticipated games of the season with our rival, King College, was on Monday. Walking into their gym always gets me pumped. Although it is definitely one of my least favorite gymnasiums, it makes me so excited to play. The crowd was basically packed for the game which was not unusual, but having a huge crowd is what most basketball players thrive off of.  The ride over seemed to be a little bit more quiet, besides the very random CD that our assistant coach put in of Michael Jackson. I think she was the only one jamming out to it. I think a lot of us were just ready to play instead of having to wait several hours. I know personally I would rather just jump right into the game, but of course that wouldn’t be the best idea. The game was definitely an intense one as it always is against King. It seemed like we were having an extremely hard time finishing our shots, but we still kept up our defense. We had players constantly coming in bringing more energy which was very important because that is what gets our team going. We have been focusing a lot as a team on bringing more energy and intensity, whether it be by having more cheering coming from the bench, more encouragement coming from players on the court, or just a simple thing like clapping and getting each other up before and during the game. Although we struggled to hit shots, we were only down by 1 at halftime. We definitely knew we were not out of this game, because we had come back from a 15 point deficit against Fairmont State earlier in the season. Although we fought all the way until the end of the game, it wasn’t enough to pull out the win. I hate losing to King, but we had a bigger game coming up that was a conference game that we needed to focus on and we did just that.

With us leading the conference, we are playing every game for first place and there are 8 other teams trying to take that from us. With our conference being so competitive, we knew the game against Tennessee Wesleyan wasn’t going to be easy. One thing that everyone was so excited about was playing at home again! We had not played at home since December 5^th! The one thing about playing at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse is that we have some hardcore loyal fans for women’s basketball! When we ran out on that court they were right there cheering for the starting line-up and going crazy cheering and yelling the whole game! I LOVED IT! It was good to be playing at home again that is for sure! I am one of only a couple players on the team that live far from home, but when I step on the court and play at the Steve Lacy Fieldhouse it is like I’m playing in my hometown again. We didn’t start the game with our best performance, but after a timeout we got ourselves composed and came out hard to take the lead and never lose the lead the rest of the game. The energy was overwhelming from the crowd and the team, and we just pushed through and finished strong. Our shooting percentage and free throw percentage was both up this game and it was a hard fought win! Now it’s time to prepare for the next battle at Montreat College.

Hey there, hope everything is going well on your side of the computer screen. It is always extremely nice to run at the Niswonger Invitational because the meet is almost like a home meet. Being so close to campus allowed the team to support and cheer on everyone else throughout their races. This meet is also extremely helpful because it gives the team race experience on the track that Nationals is held on.

Tanner Payne had a blowout performance at the beginning of the meet to jumpstart all of us. Throughout the next couple days we had numerous guys step up and run their personal bests. Niswonger brings in an extremely high level of competition for us to run against. This allows us to continue to prove that NAIA schools can take down Division 1 programs in any race.

After the meet on Saturday, Coach took the team out to Generous George’s pizza restaurant for dinner. Getting the entire team together is always fun because of the friendships that we all have with each other. However, as the night closed we all turned our focus back onto practice so that we can fully reach each of our potentials in the next race.

Hear the thunder and fear the herd,

Aaron.

The Buffalo Nation was in full force this past weekend at Montreat College for the AAC Conference Championships. With all the accolades we received it’s hard to call our performance anything else but a success.

We were treated to the local Asheville hot-spot of Mellow Mushroom the night before for dinner. There is nothing like a lot of pizza, water and a great time with the entire team the night before such a big race. We returned back to our hotel, had a team meeting with Coach Layne, and then took an ice bath before getting a good night’s rest before Saturday.

The Black Mountain course was very challenging, but it was nothing we couldn’t handle. We went out very aggressively in order to try to win the title from a very strong Bryan College team, but it was their day. However, at the awards presentation our efforts were not gone unnoticed. Austin was presented the AAC Runner of the Year award, and I joined him on the All-AAC Conference Team. We also had 4 All-AAC Freshman Team runners being Ethan Johnson, David Lawler, Matt Murphy, and Jack Quesenberry. We were also fortunate to have 3 individual runners qualify for the NAIA National Championships in Vancouver, Washington being myself, Austin and Brendan Hawkins.

We would like to give thanks to all of our fans that came out and supported us through our races. On a challenging course it was a huge emotional lift. The “Milligan Fanatics” had a spirit bus, as well as a number of students and professors came out and actually outnumbered the amount of fans that showed up from Montreat (the host school)!

The 3 of us and the women’s team are extremely excited to fly out on Thursday morning for nationals. Keep us in your prayers for safe travels.

Hear the thunder, fear the herd!

Aaron Wood

This past weekend, Milligan ran at Montreat College in North Carolina at the Appalachian Athletic Conference.  We traveled to the Montreat campus to look at course on Friday, but found out that we actually needed to be on Black Mountain campus.  Coach asked five different people where the athletic fields were and no one knew what he was talking about!  Luckily a security guard rescued us and pointed us in the direction of the Black Mountain campus, what a way to start the trip!  Eventually we looked at the tough course and then headed to our hotel. 

Our pre- race meal was eaten at the Mellow Mushroom, an amazing pizza place in Asheville.  I think we all ate way too much of their delicious pizza!  The next morning we headed to the course in a good mindset. 

We won the Conference meet for the seventh year in a row and Gillian Giffen was the AAC Champion.  We had eight of our girls in the top ten; Gillian Giffen, Lili Zaldana, Catie McMahon, Shanna Raines, Lauren Hubbard, Leah Nelson, Heather Exline, and Danielle Mitchell.  We also made up a majority of the AAC Freshman Women’s Team. 

It was a great race and we qualified for nationals.  We are now focusing on nationals, which is November 21st in Van Couver, Washington.  We are very excited about nationals and next week and are working on the little things to prepare.

GO LADY BUFFS!!!

This past weekend the Cross Country team had the special chance to experience the life of an elite runner by going to ZAP Fitness. Nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, ZAP Fitness is a training center for post-collegiate and even Olympic hopeful runners. Acceptance to the center is dependent on running times and an interview—the remote lifestyle requires extreme dedication and is not for everyone. With around 10 athletes usually living at ZAP, each athlete gets specialized coaching and training.

While at ZAP, we got to experience some of the perks that come with such an elite and dedicated lifestyle of a professional runner. One of the special things that ZAP has is its Alter-G treadmill. This high-tech treadmill actually allows you to walk or run at a fraction your body weight. One of our runners, Walter Hendrickson, who has a stress fracture, was allowed to run on it. After an insightful and motivational team meeting we went to bed after an exhausting but satisfying day.

Saturday morning started early with a run at Moses Cone Memorial Park. It had been raining most of the morning, so there was mist everywhere as we went on our run, giving it an almost surreal feeling. The trees were gorgeous since they were in the process of changing colors, and the fallen leaves created a colorful mosaic surface to run on. Even though it was a long run, the run flew by as we ran around the Moses Cone where we even got to see the huge manor that was in the film Green Mile.

After our run and customary ice bath, we headed back home. However, the fun wasn’t over yet. Since it was Halloween, the Cross Country team celebrated with our own costume party at Danielle Mitchell’s house. Now, we are all focused on the Conference Meet this Saturday. We have all trained and worked hard, and now we just need to trust ourselves and run they way we know we can.  I have been blessed to run with a wonderful team of ladies, and I am so excited to see how we all perform. Go Lady Buffs!

Lauren

http://alter-g.com/ (link about the Alter-G)

http://www.zapfitness.com/ (link with more about ZAP)

The annual Black and Orange Dual Meet was held on Monday October 26, 2009.  At this 3k race, Coach Layne divided us into two teams, one black and one orange, and we raced each other.  It was held down on the loop in perfect running weather and we had a lot of great support from family, friends, and professors there! 

Shanna Raines, Lili Zaldana, Heather Exline, Elsa Figueroa, and Danielle Mitchell made up the Black Team.  On the Orange Team were Gillian Giffen, Lauren Hubbard, Leah Nelson, Janey Robinson and I.  It was fun to be out on different teams for a bit, there was a lot of enthusiasm from each team.  The orange team painted our nails bright orange and had orange ribbons in our hair.  We even made up a cheer, “Go O!”  The beginning of the race was incredibly fast, but it was a good race nonetheless.  We all ran very well and there was a lot of enthusiasm and effort on the course.  It was fun to be on separate teams for a day, but I think that we are all very glad to be back together as a team.  The results were very rewarding; it showed us that we are very well prepared for the Conference. 

Now we just need to stay focused on all the little things to stay on track.

Catie

We have had a couple great weeks here on campus; I hope you can say the same. The Black vs. Orange dual meet was a great change of pace for all of the men. After racing so many 8k’s we were ecstatic about the idea of only having to run a 5k. For guys like me, this 5k would be the only chance of the year to run an official 5k all year. The race was initially supposed to be run on Tuesday, but due to some nasty weather coming in we moved it up to Monday. The weather was perfect and we were all excited to go race.

As Coach P stepped up and fired the gun, the rest of the practices going on around us snapped their heads around quicker than I’ve ever seen before in my life. My Black team was solid through the first half of the race, but couldn’t hold off the surge of the Orange team during the last mile. So congrats to the Orange team on a great tactical race. A majority of the individuals set new 5k pr’s as compared to their high school times. A lot of people from the community came out and supported us throughout the race which was an amazing feeling to have.

After the emotion of the Dual Meet, we looked forward to getting away for a little bit to Zap Fitness. We all would like to thank Pete Rea and all of the professional athletes there that were so gracious and supportive of us. This was a time for the team to really build each other up and grow closer to each other. All of this while living the lifestyle of a professional runner for a small, but amazing, amount of time. On Saturday morning, we got to run on the Moses Cone Memorial Park in Blowing Rock, NC. The fog made our long run feel like a dream almost. It was an incredible feeling.

One main topic of the conversations on that trip was the upcoming conference race at Montreat College. We are all extremely excited to go out and prove what we are capable of. With this new fire and focus Saturday morning can’t come soon enough.

We hope to see you there at 10:00 am. For now, hear the thunder and fear the herd!

Aaron

WOW…what a week…after coming off an exciting win against Reinhardt to keep our conference title run alive, we traveled to a beautiful scenic place called Bluefield, Va., for our second to last conference match up. This is not an easy place to go too and get a easy result. After a few mix ups in our defensive third, we found ourselves down 2-0 after 20 minutes and a massive hole to try and climb our way out of.

Just before the half time period, we managed to convert a penalty kick which was won by myself and scored by fellow englishman Phil !ilson. Our half time team talk was very short and sweet as we knew what we had to do. We were seeing most of the possessions but just couldn’t find the back of the net. With just ten minutes left on the scoreboard and still trailing 2-1, we had to dig deep as a team and find a way to get a result. 

I was delighted that I became that person who tied the game from off of a great cross from Phil and a very well placed header from the edge of the 18 yard box.  The bench erupted as i ran over to them to celebrate; it was a great feeling! With around 6 minutes left, a great run from Sandre Wilson from the middle of the field got us the goal which put us ahead. The team moral and atmosphere was absolutely AMAZING!!! In the closing minutes, Phil tacked on his second goal of the night which secured the victory even more.

We all couldn’t believe the character we had shown. The heart and fight which was needed, we produced.

Coming off a great comeback, we knew we had one more team in our way of getting the conference championship. We played Tennessee Weselyen this past Saturday for homecoming and senior night. Before the game in the locker room, we all made a promise that we were going to give it our all to get a win and bring that championship title back to Anglin Field. 

We got off to a great start when Phil scored from a great assist off Joel Cowan. Then shorlty after I converted a rocket of a header from a brilliant corner kick from Travis Phillips. At half time being up 2-0, we all knew we had to keep playing hard and see the game through and try and convert a couple more chances to finish the game off completely. Even though we conceded a goal from some smart play by the Bulldogs, the “Jamaican Speedster” Sandre Wilson got the third goal to put the Bulldogs back in their kennels and to put us up 3-1.

When the final whistle had blown, it was just a relief that all our hard work had paid off and a championship has been won. Even after the celebration of being conference champs, we know our season doesn’t end there and we’re not settling for just the conference title. We are all hungry and craving much more success so we’re excited for the conference tournament.

As me and the rest of the guys say, it feels good to be a conference champ and a Buffalo!!!

Joshua Scott

Wow, this weekend was amazing! We had an important game against Tennessee Wesleyan for a chance to move up in the conference rankings, and if we won, that would move us one step closer towards second place. Well with hard work and determination, we beat our opponents 1-0 in overtime.

From the kickoff, I knew we were going to win. Everyone seemed to be on the same page, and all the girls were anticipating each other’s next pass. We had several shots on goal, a couple just barely missing. Everyone seemed to be working hard, and we controlled most of the half. The second half was even better. We were winning a lot of 50-50 balls, and the shots on goal just kept coming. Several went just shy, keeping the whole team on their toes. I could tell we all wanted to win this game so bad. However, yet again, we went into overtime, but this was an advantage for us, considering we had already played 5 previous overtimes. And as the clock was nearing ten minutes, Nine struck a shot to end the game! It was so relieving and exhilarating at the same time.

This also was an important game for me because this game was my last home game at Anglin Field. Senior nights are always bittersweet; you are proud of what you’ve accomplished in four years, but you don’t want to leave the game. I especially am going to miss all my girls. They are so great, and always put a smile on my face. I’ll never forget the times I’ve had on the soccer field and will miss everything about it. Yet, there’s still more to come for this season, and we have a great shot at Nationals. So with that, Go Lady Buffs!!

Kelley Foster