The Emory men’s and women’s cross country teams enjoyed fine outings on Saturday at the Second Annual Furman Classic.  The meet was held at the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, South Carolina.

The 31^st-ranked women’s side took home first-place honors out of 17 teams in the Division II, III and NAIA competition, blowing away the field with 36 points.  North Georgia was runner-up with 119 points while Wingate held down the No. 3 spot with 149 points.  The Eagles claimed three of the top six individual finishes led by senior Tamara Surtees, who paced the 152-runner field in a 6K time of 22:20 that represented her second-fastest time.  Senior Stephanie Crane crossed the finish in third position after clocking a personal best 22:53 while junior Marissa Gogniat was sixth with an effort of 22:59.  Rounding out the squad’s scorers were freshman Halle Markel whose performance of 23:26 ranked 12^th and classmate Gabrielle Rudolph who registered a 23:40 that was good for 14^th.

The men's contingent placed fourth out of 10 teams with 93 points, just five points shy of third-place King College.  Capturing the D-II, III and NAIA race was Mount Olive with 30 points while Mars Hill was second with 59 points.  Senior Alex Fleischhacker was the top Emory runner with his 8K showing of 26:17 good for 16^th out of 113 entries.  Junior Lukas Mees was close behind with his 26:38 slotting him 18^th.  Senior Tyler Cooke (26:46, 20^th place), freshman Jordan Flowers (27:01, 25^th place) and sophomore Grant Murphy (27:28, 33^rd place) closed out the team’s scorers.


The Eagles return to action on Sept. 27 when they venture to Pensacola, Florida, to compete in Gulf Coast Stampede.