Emory Cross Country Teams Gear Up For NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships
The 2011 Emory University men's and women's cross country teams
head into the homestretch of the season on Saturday (Nov. 12) when
they take part in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional
Championships. This year's competitions will be held on the
campus of Texas Lutheran University. The women's 6K
race will begin at 9:00 am (CDT) while the men's 8K event is slated
for a 10:00 am 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. 19, in Winneconne, Wisconsin. 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 20 seasons. In 2010, the Eagles finished second out
of 25 teams just four points behind first-place Rhodes
College. Tess Gallegos highlighted the Emory
effort, claiming first place in the 191-runner field with a 6k time
of 21:51. Her effort marked the fifth time that an Emory
runner had captured the top spot in the event and the first since
2006. Her performance enabled her to claim the
South/Southeast Runner of the Year Award. All of
Emory’s scorers earned all-region acclaim including current
members Melanie Frank, Sara Gelb
and Sabrina Jeppson. In addition,
Calley Edwards also brought home all-region kudos.
Heading into this weekend’s action, Emory is
ranked 22nd nationally and first in the region. In
the Eagles’ most recent performance, they posted a
third-place at the University Athletic Association Championships
(Oct. 29) in Chicago.
Last year, the Emory’s men’s team saw a
three-year streak of advancing to the national championships
snapped following a fifth-place finish out of 23 squads at the
Regionals. The Eagles, ranked No. 1 in the region, had two
runners race to all-region recognition, including current harrier
Stephen Ellwood who crossed the finish line in
32nd place out of 164 entries. At the
recently held UAA Championships, Emory finished eighth.
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