The Emory men’s and women’s cross country teams turned in strong performances at the AAE Invitational.  The premier event was held at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisconsin.

The No. 27-ranked women recorded a fifth-place finish out of 46 teams,  totaling 265 points.  No. 5-ranked Washington University took home the top spot with 136 points while No. 14 Williamette was runner-up with 165 points.  No. 13 Chicago was third (201 pts.) and 10th-ranked Hope held down the No. 4 position with 259 points.  It was a day of personal bests for the Eagle women with all of their competitors coming through with their best 6K times.  Leading the way for Emory was senior Elise Viox who crossed the finish line in the No. 34 position out of 414 runners, clocking a 22:17.  Senior Aileen Rivell shined, posting a 22:24 that ranked 39th overall, while sophomore Gabrielle Stravach ranked 50th in the field with an effort of 22:32. Sophomore Hanna Saadegh-Vaziri (22:44, 68th place) and freshman Clare Ubersax (22:48, 74th place) rounded out the squad's scorers.  Emory's next four entries, Mia Eisenhandler (24:49, 75th), junior Sophie Cemaj (22:51, 79th), and sophomores Abigail Hotaling (23:03, 102nd) and Grace Pixler (23:20, 135th) and Megan Waples (23:24, 144th) all closed out the race with personal-best efforts.

The men's side ended up 16th out of 45 teams with 448 points.  UW-Eau Claire lived up to its billing as the No. 1-ranked team, finishing first with 99 points. No. 3 North Central claimed runner-up honors with 131 points while No. 13. St. Lawrence was third (174 pts.).  The top three Emory finishers recorded personal-best 8K showings, led by senior Lukas Mees, whose 8K effort of 25:21 placed 44th out of 419 runners.  Junior Michael Sisario raced to a time of 25:32 that was runner-up to Mees and 53rd overall.   Sophomore Max Brown's mark of 25:45 was third among the Emory contingent and 81st in the field while sophomore Jordan Flowers registered a season-best outing of 26:17, good 132nd place.  Rounding out the Emory scorers was Michael McBane (26:22, 138th place).

Both teams return to action on Oct. 31 when they compete in the University Athletic Association Championships in Boston.