One of the top female runners at Auburn High School has announced her intentions to continue her career at Milligan College. Caitlin Dominy committed to the Elizabethton, Tennessee liberal arts school on Tuesday.
“I chose to go to Milligan College because of the outstanding Christian environment that the college has. I instantly connected with the team and it felt like home. I feel like it will be a great place for me to continue to grow in both my running and education,” she said.
Dominy was the News Messenger’s spring female athlete of the year last year as she won both the 800 and 1,600 meters for Auburn who brought home a girls’ state title.
Her personal records are 2:26 in the 800, 5:34 in the 1,600 and 12:15 in the 3,200, and she owns Auburn’s mile and 2-mile marks.
Milligan is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. This past year, six athletes from the school competed in the national track and field championships.
In 19 seasons at the helm of Milligan’s cross country and track & field programs under Chris Layne, the men and women have earned 378 national championship qualifiers to go along with 78 All-American honors and 20 top-25 National Championship finishes.
Dominy plans to major in Biology with plans to go into pre-med. Her goal for college running is to be a valuable addition to the team.
“Last year, the girls’ cross-country team placed seventh at the national championship, and I know that my future teammates and I definitely have our sights set on a podium finish at Nationals. As for track, I want to continually drop my times and just see how fast I can really get,” Dominy said.
She plans to run cross country in the fall and focus on distances from the 800-1600 in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Dominy believes she has been successful on the track because of the abilities God has given her.
“He has allowed me to run the ways I have. I also believe that being a ‘full-time runner’ has played a large part. I try to stay focused on how everything in daily life effects my running. For example, this may mean less junk food, or not staying out late with friends, but it has definitely helped me receive the results and awards that I have gotten.”
Off the track she hopes to study medicine and become a pediatrician.
