The Emory University men's and women's cross country teams head into the homestretch of the season on Saturday (Nov. 12) when they compete at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships. This year's competitions will be held at the Clara Bowl Course on the campus of Berry College in Rome, Ga. The women's 6K race begins at 10:00 am, followed by the men's 8K at 11:00 am.
There are eight regional championships being conducted around the country with the top two men's and women's teams from each regional earning automatic bids to the NCAA National Championships on Saturday, Nov. 19, in Louisville, Kentucky. In addition, there will be 16 at-large teams selected for both the men's and women's championships.
The Emory women's team, ranked 18th nationally and first in the region, has enjoyed considerable success at the NCAA Regionals, logging first-place efforts in 19 of the past 25 seasons. In 2015, the Eagles ventured to Kernstown, Virginia and topped a 27-team field with 35 points, well ahead of runner-up Rhodes College’s 106 points. The Eagles saw all five of their scorers earn all-region kudos by virtue of finishing among the top 35. This year’s squad has been paced by junior Gabrielle Stravach, who has ranked as the Eagles’ No. 1 runner in all five of her of its competitions. In her most recent outing, Stravach raced to Second Team All-UAA honors after finishing ninth at the conference championships (Oct. 29). Junior Tru Powell has scored for the team in all five of her meets, and also earned Second Team All-UAA acclaim after crossing the finish line in the No. 14 position.
The Emory’s men’s team, currently the top-ranked program in the region and tied for 26th nationally, brought home its second straight region crown last year, bettering the 30-team field with 86 points and boasting six all-region honorees including Lukas Mees who finished first out of 203 runners, earning South/Southeast Athlete of the Year accolades. After being slowed earlier this year, Mees has scored for the Eagles in all three of his competitions. Senior Michael Sisario has provided consistency, scoring in four of his five competitions. Sisario was Emory’s No. 1 finisher at the UAA Championships, registering an 8K time of 25:05 that ranked eighth overall and that enabled to claim Second Team All-UAA recognition.