The Emory University men’s and women’s cross country teams overcame a snow-steeped course at the 2022 Division III NCAA Cross Country Championships held Nov. 19 in Lansing, Michigan.
After the men’s team won the 2022 University Athletic Association (UAA) Cross Country Championships and the women placed fourth earlier this season, both Eagle teams arrived with confidence. Senior Spencer Moore said that running through the frigid Michigan snow didn’t destroy their confidence despite the climate difference from Atlanta.
“It was very different,” Moore said. “It was very unusual. It was challenging, but I wouldn’t really say that it changed the way we ran. Personally, and as a team, we went into the meet focused on just competing and ignoring the conditions.”
On the women’s side, senior Annika Urban said that the steep temperature drop came as a shock given the balmier conditions the teams are used to in the South.
“The week before nationals, we competed at regionals in Virginia, and it was 85 degrees, and so a week later to be competing in the cold snow was insane,” Urban said. “We kind of knew like Michigan might be cold… but I don’t think anybody was really expecting what we ended up running in.”
Women’s Race
Entering the Division III Championship, the No. 31-ranked women’s team had previously faced four other UAA teams during the regular season: University of Chicago (Ill.) (4), Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) (Mo.) (7), New York University (NYU) (20) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) (Pa.) (29). They previously defeated CMU and NYU at the UAA Championships, beating four out of the eight teams in the conference. The team would beat these two teams again in the NCAA championship.
Urban’s time of 22:09.2 earned her sixth place out of 293 runners in the 6000-meter race and All-America honors for the second year in a row. Last year, Urban came in 12th place with a time of 21:15.5.
Despite her strong top-10 performance, Urban said she felt she could have performed better considering the difficult conditions.
“I am at peace knowing that I put everything that my body had to give out on that course,” Urban said. “I really wanted to be up there with those number one and two runners. I also know that on that day, that was everything I had to give and I’m happy with that.”
Junior Helena Kummings trailed Urban for the Eagles and finished 152nd with a time of 23:49.5, junior Lily Taylor finished 182nd with a time of 23:59.6, graduate student Claire Hu finished 216th with a time of 24:16.2 and sophomore Jenna Daly finished 235th with a time of 24:25.3. These performances helped propel the Eagles to 25th place with a total of 584 points.
The women’s cross country team at the 2022 Division III NCAA Cross Country Championships in Lansing, Michigan on Nov. 19. (Courtesy of Dan McCauley)
Men’s Race
The stakes for the men’s team were high. Coming off a historic regular season run and stellar postseason performances at the UAA championships and the 2022 NCAA Division III South Region Cross Country Championships, the No. 10-ranked Emory men’s team faced four other UAA rivals: CMU (9), Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) (Ohio) (16), University of Chicago (22) and WashU (25).
Moore led the Eagles in the 8000-meter race and finished 52nd with a time of 25:45.8. Following him in 72nd place was graduate student Ethan Thompson, who came in at 25:56.4. Senior Brett Lucas placed 166th with a time of 26:26.6, junior Scott Masterson placed 180th with a time of 25:30.6 and senior Justin Pecore placed 186th, clocking in at 26:33.0. The team finished 21st with 501 points.
Given that the team finished 11 places lower than their ranking predicted, Moore noted they were “a little disappointed” by the result.
“I know a couple of teams we’d beaten earlier in the season [beat us], but I mean, that’s not to take away from the incredible historic season we’ve had, and we’re still very proud and happy with the season that we put out there,” Moore said. “This was the best season in Emory cross country history. While we performed a little worse than we had hoped for, we’re not letting the last race define the entire season and we’re still very proud of what we accomplished.”
The men’s cross country team at the 2022 Division III NCAA Cross Country Championships in Lansing, Michigan on Nov. 19. (Courtesy of Dan McCauley)
Sports Editor Jenna Daly (25C) is a member of the cross country team and had no role in writing or editing this article.
Clement Lee (he/him) (24Ox) is from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is on the pre-BBA track. Outside the Wheel, Clement can be found reading new books or going on long runs in the woods.
