Emory Cross Country Teams to Compete at NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships

South/Southeast Regional Championship Web Site

The 2008 Emory University men's and women's cross country teams head into the homestretch of the season on Saturday (Nov. 15) when they take part in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships.  This year's competitions will be held in Seguin, Texas, and hosted by Texas Lutheran University.  The men's 8K race will begin at 9:00 a.m. (CST) while the women's 6K event is slated for a 10:00 a.m. (CST) start. 

There are eight regional championships being conducted around the country with the top two men's and women's teams from each regional earning automatic bids to the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Hanover, Indiana.  In addition, there will be 16 at-large teams selected for both the men's and women's championships.

The Emory women's team has enjoyed considerable success over the years at the NCAA Regionals, logging first-place efforts in 16 of the past 17 seasons.  In 2007, the Eagles topped the 28-team field with 52 points, edging runner-up Trinity who finished with 54 points.  Seniors Melissa Jones (Zionsville, IN) and Natalie Waryck (Springfield, OH) recorded fifth and sixth-place finishes, respectively, en route to all-region honors.  In their most recent outing, the Emory women's team came in third at the University Athletic Association Championships (Nov. 1).  Freshman Tess Gallegos (Kennesaw, GA) led Emory's effort by crossing the finish line in fifth position out of 76 runners with a 6K time of 22:06.  Jones came through with a sixth-place performance (22:14) and in the process landed First Team All-UAA recognition with Gallegos.  Warcyk was a second-team honoree after coming in 11th.

Last year's men's competition was a hotly-contested affair with Emory and Rhodes tying for first place with 76 points with Texas-Tyler in hot pursuit with 77 points. All seven of the Eagles' runners earned all-region kudos by virtue of their finishes, highlighted by current squad members Paul Winterhalter (Ardmore, PA) and Charles Meade (Wellesley, MA) who posted 10th and 16th-place efforts respectively, in the 170-runner field.  Emory has registered first-place efforts as a team in seven of the last nine regional championships.  At the UAA Championships, Emory chalked up a third-place finish, the program's best showing since the 2002 campaign, and had  Meade, along with Tommy Fyffe (Cincinnati, OH) earn First Team All-UAA status.