NEW YORK – Former High Point University track & field standout Taylor Milne ('05) claimed victory in the mile run amongst an elite field Sunday at the New Balance Games.
 
Milne – competing for Speed River Track & Field Club, crossed the finish line in 4:01.08 to conquer a field of 14 professional runners from across the globe.
 
Milne, who hopes to qualify for his second Olympic Games in 2016 as part of Team Canada, is off to a good start in this important qualification season.
 
"Taylor won a high level race in New York Sunday and closed the race well," head coach Mike Esposito said. "His 4:01.18 time was tactical and bodes well for him. His specialty is the steeple, but honing his 1500/mile skills will be helpful. He is getting better with age."
 
Arguably the finest distance runner in HPU history, Milne was named to the Big South Indoor/Outdoor All-Decade Teams in 2014. He was a four-time Big South champion and four-time all-conference selection during his career from 2001-05.
 
He was an individual champion in the 2003 indoor season in both the 800-meter and mile and in the 3,000-meter and mile in 2004. Milne became High Point's first NCAA Div. I national track & field qualifier when he did so as a senior in the indoor mile. Milne finished 13th at the 2004 NCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Outdoors, Milne won an individual championship as a sophomore in the 1,500m and again won the event as a senior in 2005. Milne still holds the HPU indoor-record in the mile with a time of 4:02.18 and 3000m with a mark of 8:13.43. Milne holds the outdoor record in the 1,500-meters in 3:43.99 and was named the 2003 Big South Most Outstanding Indoor Track Performer.
 
Milne has competed for Canada since graduation and qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where he competed in the 1500m run. This summer, he competed in the July Diamond League meet in London  and qualified for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing in August (3000m steeplechase).
 
The 2016 Canada Olympic Trials are scheduled for July 7-10, 2016, in Edmonton.
 
"Taylor was unheralded out of high school, but through hard work and a strong maturation process, he has progressed into one of the top steeplers in the world," Esposito said. "It's been exciting to see his growth as a professional athlete and we look forward to him earning another Olympic bid this summer."
 
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