Emory’s cross country team traveled to Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pa., to run in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships on Nov. 2. Both the men’s and women's team finished fifth out of eight teams.
In the men’s 8K race, the team finished with a total score of 111 points. Junior Jack Whetstone paced the Eagles, crossing the line with a time of 25:07 and finishing in eighth place out of 76 total runners. Sophomore Spencer Moore (25:27), and junior John Cox (25:35), who finished 15th and 18th, respectively, followed closely behind. The final runners from Emory to cross the line in a scoring position were sophomore Brett Lucas (26:00) in 33rd place and junior Egan Kattenberg (26:05) in 37th place.
Whetstone, who was named to the Second Team All-UAA, was proud of the team’s performance, and knows the team is ready to perform in the final weeks of the season.
“We feel that we did some things well and know we can do some things better,” Whetstone said. “We’re leaving this meet with a chip on our shoulder, looking to make big things happen going into the last two meets of the season.”
The women’s team, who ran a 6K race, finished with a total of 140 points. Junior Susannah Martin crossed the finish line first for the Eagles, finishing in ninth out of 56 runners and with a time of 22:26, earning her a spot on the Second Team All-UAA. The rest of the team crossed the line within 30 seconds of each other, starting with junior Carrie McIntyre, who finished in 27th place with a time of 23:04. Freshman Leah Clark in 30th place (23:09), Shana Fitzmaurice in 33rd (23:11) and junior Abby Dufree in 41st place (23:31) followed McIntyre.
Head Coach Linh Nguyen, who is hoping to succeed in his first season at Emory, was already looking towards what his athletes need to focus on before nationals.
“Overall it was a solid day for both the men and the women,” Nguyen said. “They need to improve their spread—the time between the first and fifth runner—to decrease the score and place higher. At this point in the season, there is no way to prepare other than trying to stay healthy and making sure we’re well rested.”
The men’s and women's cross country team will race again at a Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tenn.,in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship on Nov. 16.
