March 17, 2006

Seven Milligan runners competed last weekend in the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Nationals at East Tennessee State University’s Memorial Center. Milligan had athletes competing in five events, which ran from March 9 though11 and included NAIA schools from around the United States.

Junior Jair Collie finished 18 out of 25 competitors in the preliminary 600-meter run with a time of 1:23.15. This was his third opportunity to compete at indoor nationals after finishing 17^th in the 1,000 meters last year.

Senior Megan Lease competed in the preliminary 5,000-meters and finished 19th with a time of 19:21.08. Lease, a five-time All-American, was hoping to break the school record which she missed last year by one second, finishing 5th in the nation.

Two Milligan women ran the 1,000-meter preliminary race. Sophomore Kortney Goulds and freshman Jacklyn Talbert finished closely, Goulds with a 9th place finish time of 3:02.25 and Talbert with a 10th place finish time of 3:02.34. The top eight individuals made it out of the preliminaries to the finals in this race. Both girls were less than a second away from qualifying for finals.

Goulds said that it was a little disappointing to finish so closely to 8th place, but this was her first time at indoor track nationals.

“I did better than I had ever done,” Goulds said. “I got a personal best time.”

Head Coach Chris Layne said, “Jacklyn and Kortney were ranked way down (going into the meet) and finished nine and 10.”

The women’s 3,200-meter relay came close to going to the finals as well. The top eight finishing teams in the race went to finals, but Milligan’s team finished 9th with a time of 9:34.58. The relay team consisted of Goulds, Talbert, sophomore Brittany Bales and freshman Ashley Pearce.

The women finished 11 seconds short of the 8th place team.

Layne said that each of the relay’s team members ran well, some of them running personal records. He said he was happy with their performance, but he “didn’t think we were ready for 9:25,” the last finals qualifying time.

Senior Chris Wright had a rewarding weekend as the only Milligan runner who made it to finals. Wright qualified for the one mile and the 3000 meters, but Layne said that he and Wright opted not to have him run the mile so he could better prepare for the 3000 meters and because Milligan was not expecting a high team score.

In Friday’s preliminary race, Wright ran through the finish in 8:42.49, giving him an 11th place finish and a qualifying place for finals.

On Saturday, Wright ran in the 3,000-meter finals, where he took an impressive 6th place with a time of 8:31.66. With this finish, he gained his second All-American title.

Layne said it was great to watch him catch up to the men in the front from running 9th place most of the race to slowly taking the 6^th place position at the very end.

“Chris has a great kick,” Layne said.

With the indoor track season under their belts, the men and women’s track teams will now focus on the outdoor season. Layne said they always have goals to shoot for and they will try to do their best this season.

“The goal is to run fast and exceed performances,” Layne said.

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Two-time All-American runner

Adam Chapman
Reporter

Wright took 6th place in nationals. Photo by Public Relations

With a time of 8:31:66, senior Chris Wright is the sixth fastest  man in the NAIA 3,000-meter-race. In addition, Wright also claimed his second All-American title at the NAIA National Indoor Track and Field Championships held last weekend at the Memorial Center at East Tennessee State University.

This year’s track season started rough for Wright when he got Achilles tendonitis. He had to take three weeks off of his daily training for rehabilitation. Wright overcame the tendonitis and got back on the track for his training.

“It was the hardest thing ever,” Wright said.

Coming into the season, Wright set a goal to beat his personal record and to obtain another All-American title. In February, Wright qualified for and began preparing for last week’s Nationals, where he won his second All-American title.  

“During the race, all I thought about was [being] top six,” Wright said, “and [my teammates] never gave up on me.”

After completion of his HPXS degree and Coaching Minor, Wright dreams of being a coach.

When asked how running has influenced his life, Wright said, “Hard work. What I do on the track, I incorporate in my life.”