2013 EMORY MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RECAP

With an emphasis on building and improving throughout the season, the 2013 edition of the Emory men’s cross country team achieved some key goals it had set for itself prior to the start of the year.

Using the experience of some tested veterans, along with an infusion of young talent, the Eagles returned to the big stage by earning their first trip to the NCAA D-III Championships since 2009.   Emory raced its way to nationals after an inspired performance at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships where it finished runner-up out of 24 teams, its best showing in that event since 2009.  Emory had three runners among the top 21 overall finishers at Regionals, highlighted by senior Eddie Mulder who earned all-region honors for the second time in his career after crossing the finish line in the No. 8 spot out of 174 entries with a personal-best 8K time of 25:17.  Junior Tyler Cooke and senior Hank Ashforth each captured all-region accolades by virtue of placing 15^th and 21st,    respectively, while senior Alex Fleischhacker (24^th) and junior Patrick Crews (32^nd) landed all-region acclaim.

Emory came away with four top-four finishes and one top-10 performance in its opening five meets of the campaign.  After coming in second at the Sewanee Invitational, the Eagles posted a runner-up effort out of 16 teams at the Furman Classic followed by a third-place finish in a 16-team field at the Charlotte Invitational.  After coming in fourth out of 26 programs at the Greater Louisville Classic, Emory prepped for the University Athletic Association Championships by claiming the No. 7 spot in a formidable 31-team field at the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble.   At the conference meet, which featured six teams ranked among D-III’s top 35, the Eagles came in fifth, the program’s best finish since 2009.

Fleischhacker was named the team's Most Valuable Runner after scoring for the Eagles in all seven of his competitions and ranking among the team’s top three on five occasions.  Junior Tyler Cooke emerged as a consistent contributor, scoring in six of his seven races, en route to being named the Most Improved Runner.  Mulder came through with a solid final season, placing among the Eagles’ top three in all six of his meets including leading the pack at the NCAA Championships.   Freshman Michael McBane was tabbed as the squad’s Rookie of the Year.

All South/Southeast Region
Eddie Mulder                          Pompano Beach, FL
Tyler Cooke                            Atlanta, GA
Hank Ashforth                        Whitehouse Station, NJ
Alex Fleischhacker                  San Diego, CA
Patrick Crews                          Federal Way, WA

United States Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team
Tyler Cooke                            Atlanta,  GA
Eddie Mulder                          Pompano Beach, FL
Hank Ashforth                        Whitehouse Station,  NJ
Patrick Crews                          Federal Way, WA
Alex Fleischhacker                  San Diego, CA