Buffaloes adding top talent

By Trey Williams
Press Sports Writer

Recruiting national caliber runners is no longer foreign territory for Milligan College.

Track and field coach Chris Layne announced Tuesday the signing of Sean Bowman and Josh Ferry, two of the top middle distance runners in Indiana.

Ferry, of Bloomington, has the ninth best time nationally in the 800 meters this year, while Bowman (Brown County) was sixth at the U.S. Junior Cross Country nationals.

Layne said the pair should instantly give Milligan’s cross country team a chance to be in the Top 10 in the country as well as an opportunity to score in the top 15-20 at the national track and field championships.

“It’s tough to attract the premier U.S. kids in the early stages of building a program,” Layne said Tuesday morning. “This is encouraging. Both guys blossomed a little late and kind of stayed under the radar.”

Layne said he had a better feeling about Ferry signing, but that Bowman was the first to commit in an “out of the blue” fashion. Ferry, who had started hearing from the likes of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, followed shortly thereafter when Layne relayed him the news of Bowman’s commitment.

“They’re buddies,” said Layne, who equated the pair to McDonald’s All-Americans in basketball. “I think the ‘in’ for us was Milligan College. They wanted a Christian college in a small environment.

“We’re excited. I know a big influx of letters had started coming in for them.”

Bowman had a mutual interest with Grace College and Abilene Christian University, one of the better NCAA Division II programs.

The signings come with Layne’s track and field program in its third year. His recent signings included national runner up Philip Rotich (Kenya), national champion Marta Zimon (Poland) and Science Hill alumnus JaKeith Hairston, who passed up a track scholarship at Chattanooga to play two sports at Milligan (Hairston also plays basketball).

Hairston has begun practicing with the team for the outdoors season. He will likely compete in four meets — Virginia Tech, Appalachian State and two at Tennessee, including the talented Sea Ray field — while trying to get his national qualifying marks for the triple jump and long jump.

Hairston is the reigning TSSAA state champion in both of those events, and also finished second at a national meet in Raleigh, N.C. last June. Layne said Hairston could be a top-five finisher at the outdoor nationals this spring.

“It’s certainly a strong possibility,” said Layne, who credits Science Hill coach Ernest Hill for Hairston’s maturation. “He could end up being top three in two events down the road. JaKeith definitely has the tools and skills to make an impact nationally.”

Layne said Hairston is training hard right now to strengthen the “core,” which runs from the top of the quads to the lower back. And Hairston is hearing a steady diet of unappetizing words like crunches, squats and hurdles drills.

“His heart is really in it,” Layne said. “He’s been out there sucking it up and doing anything I’ve asked him to do.”

The NAIA outdoor national championship is May 22-24 in Olathe, Kansas.

Other outdoor national qualifiers this spring should or could include: Zimon and fellow freshman Megan Lease (Camden, N.C.) in the 5000 meters; freshman Chris Wright (Owings Mills, Md.) and sophomore Trevor Donovan in the 1500; and senior Ryan Starr (Bartlesville, Okla.) in the marathon.

Hairston’s basketball teammate, Marc Curry of Knoville, is also running track.

“He was a state finalist in the 200 meters at Farragut,” Layne said. “He’s a real diamond in the rough. Right now we are concentrating on developing his strength for running. He might jump at some point in the future.”

The same could be said of the Milligan program’s national standing.

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About Milligan College

Milligan College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Northeast Tennessee, nationally recognized for its commitment to excellence in academic, social and spiritual development. The college has consistently been named one of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit www.milligan.edu or call 423.461.8719.

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