The Emory men’s and women’s cross country teams concluded their seasons Saturday at the NCAA Division III Championships in Winneconne, Wisconsin. The women’s team finished 21st out of 32 teams, while the men finished 29th out of 32 teams in the competition.
The women’s team ended the national meet with a 21st place finish that mirrored their national ranking. Senior Elise Viox led the way for the eighth time this season and finished the 6K course with a time of 22:01, a personal best and the 58th fastest in the field. Emory’s next three scorers all ran times that were personal or season bests. Senior Aileen Rivell ran a 22:23, placing her 106th. Rivell was followed by freshman Clare Ubersax and junior Sophie Cemaj, who ran times of 22:46 and 22:49 respectively. Junior Mia Eisenhandler was the team’s final scorer with a time of 23:04. Also competing for Emory was the sophomore pair of Hanna Saadegh-Vaziri and Gabrielle Stravach, who ran 23:05 and 23:18, respectively.
“The ladies did a really good job,” Curtin said. “Our top four ran their best ever on a day where the conditions were not great. The team struggled for a 5th person, and not having that hurt us. Our goal was to finish in the top 20 and we just missed that.”
The men’s team was led by senior Lukas Mees, whose 8K time of 25:26 was the 81st fastest at the meet.
“I won't lie that I'm disappointed in my personal performance and in how the team ended up,” Mees said. “It's a bitter taste on the end of what was a promising season. The good news is that we have the talent on the team to reach our goals; the execution just wasn't there on Saturday. We have some thinking to do before the track season.”
Junior Michael Sisario followed Mees with a time of 25:58, which earned him 184th place. The remainder of the Emory scorers were juniors Michael McBane, Austin Hunt and Grant Murphy with times of 26:02, 26:25, and 26:50, respectively.
“The guys did not run well; they just didn’t get out from the start very well,” Curtin said. “They started in the middle of grid, and since the course narrowed down very quickly, teams on [the] outside pinched everyone in. They got split up and didn’t run together like we need to.”
While the results were not what the team had hoped for, Curtin feels the experience of running against a strong level of competition will benefit the Eagles moving forward.
“What the team can learn is [that] the intensity of the competition is unlike anything else they ever experience,” he said. “They need to take that back with them, just how good [top-level] Division III is.”
Mees echoed the sentiment of his coach and hopes the meet can help the team improve for its track season in the spring.
“I have a lot of respect for many of the runners at this meet. It was a humbling experience,” Mees said. “All I can say is that I won't make the same mistakes again at championship races. My hope is that this season will serve as a springboard into the indoor track season.”
The Emory men’s team finished the season ranked 31st overall, while the women’s team ranked 21st.
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