Men and Women Compete at Nationals

By Elana Cates Asst. Sports Editor

The trip home on Saturday was bittersweet for the men and women's cross country teams. Both were able to compete at the NCAA Division III Championships in Mason, Ohio; however, they both recorded 29th-place finishes out of the 32 teams at the meet.

This was the 15th appearance at the NCAA Championships in the history of the program for the men, and the 22nd for the women.

The women totaled 653 points for the day. Senior Tamara Surtees, who ran the 6K with a time of 22:26, placing her 34th out of all 275 runners, led the team. Surtees gained All-America honors, the sixth female Eagle to capture the honor in Emory's history and the first since 2006. The next Eagle to cross the finish line was senior Marissa Gogniat, finishing with a time of 23:51 that ranked her 149th.

"For the women's team, we were disappointed overall, the course was so sloppy by the time they ran," Head Coach John Curtin said. "But, Tam [Surtees] was the highlight. She ran well, and has come very far; to get All-American is an amazing accomplishment. Her last three runs have been great – each has been better than the next, and we are all immensely proud."

Other Emory women who led the team included senior Elise Viox (24:01), freshman Halle Markel (24:19), freshman Gabrielle Rudolph (24:22), senior Stephanie Crane (24:28) and sophomore Sophie Cemaj (24:55).

"Nationals is what we work towards the whole year and, even though only the top seven girls race, it's a goal that the whole roster shares," sophomore Kelsey Abbott said. "We're also all so proud of [Surtees] for making All-American. I can't think of anyone more deserving."

Johns Hopkins University (Md.) won the women's championships with 87 points.

The men's team finished with 650 points. The men were led by senior Alex Fleischhacker, who finished first for Emory, and recorded a personal-best 8K time of 25:31.5, placing him 128th out of 280. Senior Tyler Cooke also ended his career with a personal-best of 25:32 that placed him 131st.

"Our seniors led the way, and the men ran as well as they could," Curtin said. "Nationals is always hard because it's the best 32 teams. The quality of competition is very high."

Following the two seniors finished junior Lukas Mees (25:43), sophomore Grant Murphy (25:56.9), freshman Jordan Flowers (26:10), sophomores Austin Hunt (26:23) and Michael Sisario (26:48).

North Central College (Ill.) won the Men's NCAA Championships with a total 130 points.

"Overall, we had a successful season for both teams, and I am happy," Curtain said. "Our best running did happen at Regionals, but it's always exciting to go to Nationals."

Although the teams are graduating some of their top runners with the senior class, Curtin maintains high hopes for next season.

"Next season, we will have to reevaluate as we are loosing key seniors on both [the] men and women's sides," he said. "It will be a daunting challenge to fill their spots. Our goal is, and always has been, to be a national caliber team, and I don't see that changing."

– By Elana Cates, Asst. Sports Editor

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