NEWS: Anthony Raftis to Virginia, Nicole McMillen to Wichita State

The Stride Report has confirmed that Anthony Raftis (formerly of Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina) will be finishing his athletic eligibility at the University of Virginia. He has one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining.

Raftis was an underrated and accomplished distance runner at the Division II level while competing for the Royals. The soon-to-be Cavalier owns personal bests of 8:15 (3k), 14:16 (5k) and 29:52 (10k).

In cross country, Raftis was a two-time All-American who made four appearances at the D2 National Championships. He was also a national qualifier in the 10,000 meters for the 2019 Outdoor National Championships and later qualified for the Indoor National Championships this past winter in the 5000 meters before the meet was ultimately cancelled.

Raftis will now join a Virginia program that is currently led by legendary coach Vin Lananna who took over the helm of the program in the summer of 2019. The former Queens runner will inject an extensive amount of D2 championship experience into a roster with plenty of promising young distance talents.

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In July, Nicole McMillen (formerly of Tusculum) announced that she'll be finishing her athletic eligibility at Wichita State as a graduate transfer. Based on results from TFRRS, McMillen is expected to have only one season of outdoor track eligibility remaining, although that is not yet confirmed.

McMillen quietly emerged as one of the better distance runners in Division II over the past couple of years. This past indoor track season, she secured personal bests of 4:53 (mile), 9:39 (3k) and 16:53 (5k). The former Tusculum runner also owns a steeplechase PR of 10:25 from the 2019 outdoor track season -- the same season where she qualified for the Outdoor National Championships and secured All-American honors.

In addition to her accolades on the track, McMillen is also a two-time individual national qualifier in cross country. Despite never finishing as an All-American on the grass, McMillen showed plenty of promise as a top scorer last fall as she took home a total of four wins (as well as a 2nd place finish at her regional meet).

The soon-to-be Wichita State Shocker (who also played soccer while at Tusculum University) will be joining a program that was recently responsible for developing a pair of underrated distance talents in Winny Koskei and Rebekah Topham.