Emory Cross Country Teams Host UAA Championships

The 2008 Emory University men's and women's cross country teams set their sights on the 22nd annual University Athletic Association Championships this Saturday (Nov. 1).  Emory will serve as the host institution for the Championships which will be held at the Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers, Ga.  The men's 8K race will begin at 11:00 a.m., while the women's 6K competition is slated for a noon start.

For more information on this year's championship, click here.

The New York University men's team enters the event as two-time defending champion.  Last year the Violets breezed to the title with 20 points as they had runners finish in the top three spots.  Carnegie Mellon finished runner-up with 68 points while Case Western Reserve University (121 pts.) and Emory (122 pts.) claimed third and fourth place, respectively, in the eight-team field. Leading the Emory effort last season was Paul Winterhalter whose time of 25:50 placed him 11th and earned him Second Team All-UAA recognition.  
 
Looking to spearhead the team this year will be the junior trio of Winterhalter, Charles Meade and Tommy Fyffe.  Meade has been the squad's No. 1 performer in three of his four races while Fyffe and Winterhalter have been among the Eagles' top three finishers in their four events.  Emory was ranked 13th in the nation in the Oct. 22 USTFCCA Poll while Carnegie Mellon (6th), NYU (10th) and Case Western (12th) were league teams tabbed for the national rankings.  

On the women's side, Emory will be looking to improve upon its third place showing from 2007 while unseating Washington University as the defending champ.  The Bears earned their fifth championship in six years with 31 points with Case Western's 44 points placing it second.  The Eagles totaled 58 points and were followed by Chicago (127 pts.) and the University of Rochester (140 pts.).  Natalie Waryck (Springfield, OH) posted Emory's top time with a 22:51, good for fifth place en route to First Team All-UAA recognition.  Melissa Jones crossed the finish line in ninth place and earned second-team league acclaim in the process.

Warcyk and Jones figure once again should mount a serious challenge in this year's championship as they have been Emory's most consistent runners, having finished among the top three in all their outings.