The Emory University men's and women's cross country teams head into their second week of competition this Saturday (Sept. 7) when they take part in the 33rd annual Sewanee Invitational. The meet will be held at the Sewanee Golf Club with the women's 6K race starting at 10:00 a.m., and the men's 8K event at 11:00 a.m.
Along with Emory, some of the other teams scheduled to compete include Berry, Centre, Birmingham Southern, Covenant College, Maryville, Ogelthorpe and host school Sewanee.
The women's team heads into the weekend ranked No. 2 in the South/Southeast Region and 33rd nationally among D-III programs. Emory returns a number of key personnel from last year's squad that make the program's 21st trip to the NCAA D-III Championships over the past 22 years including juniors Marissa Gogniat (Monroeville, PA), the team's Most Improved Runner in 2012, and classmate Tamara Surtees (Chagrin Falls, OH), a Second-Team All-University Athletic Association performer last season. Sophomore Aileen Rivell (Colts Neck, NJ), the Eagles' Rookie of the Year last season, is back in the fold, and bolstering the lineup will be the return of senior Emily Caesar (Barrington, RI) who missed most of last year with injuries.
The men's side holds down the No. 1 spot in the South/Southeast Region and received votes nationally in the preseason rankings. The senior trio of Hank Ashforth (Whitehouse Station, NJ), Eddie Mulder (Pompano Beach, FL) and Alex Fleischhacker (San Diego, CA) will look to anchor the squad throughout the year with Mulder and Ashforth earning All South/Southeast Region honors a year ago. Junior Patrick Crews (Federal Way, WA) was an all-region performer in 2012 as was sophomore Lukas Mees (Marion, IA), the team's lone representative to the NCAA D-III Championships.
Emory hosted the Watermelon Run last weekend in nearby Piedmont and both teams came away with first-place finishes.