MILLIGAN COLLEGE, TN (May 22, 2007) --- The Milligan College women's track and field team traveled five women to Fresno, Calif. Tuesday morning for the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships held on the campus of Fresno Pacific University May 24 through May 26. In all, Milligan qualified seven individuals but senior Josh Ferry (Bloomington, Ind.) and junior Kortney Goulds (Johnson City, Tenn.) will not compete.

"Our primary focus is to run as fast as we can, we're not worried about points, this will be about individual performances," said head coach Chris Layne.

Leading Milligan's women will be 1,500 meter school record holder and indoor All-American MacKenzie LaBonte (Port Charlotte, Fla.). LaBonte, along with sophomore Jacklyn Talbert (Mt. Carmel, Tenn.), will compete in the 1,500 meters. LaBonte's schedule will not be as hectic as it was at the 2007 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championship where she competed in two rounds of the Distance Medley Relay (DMR) and two rounds of the 3,000 meters. Both women will only run rounds of the 1,500 meters on Thursday afternoon and then the final on Saturday afternoon if they advance. Talbert, a double indoor All-American in the mile and DMR, is seeded ninth entering into the event.

Three other Milligan women will compete in the marathon by virtue of their qualifiers earlier this year at the Strawberry Plains Half Marathon. Competing this year are junior Erika Fox (Gambrills, Md.), along with sophomores Nicole Moore (Boise, Idaho) and Emily Scmitt (Avon, Ind.). Fox is coming off the 10,000 meter win at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship, while Moore won the 3,000 meter steeplechase title. Schmitt finished third in the women's 5,000 meters.

"It's simple, anything can happen when your race covers 26.2 miles," said Layne.

At last year's marathon championships, Lady Buff All-American Megan Lease finished 12th overall, while the Buffs’ Brandon Talbert finished 21st on the men's side. The NAIA is the only collegiate governing body that offers the marathon at a national championship.