2017 Emory Men's Cross Country Recap

The 2017 Emory men’s cross country program used a mix of veteran experience and talented youth to come through with a fine season.

Emory raced to top-three or higher finishes in six of nine competitions during the year, highlighted by first-place performances at the Georgia DIII Invitational, the North Georgia Invitational, the JSU Foothills Invitational and the Berry Invitational.  Emory held down the No. 3 spot at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships, with all five of its scorers ranking among the top 25 overall finishers and in the process earning all-region recognition. Senior Shane Sullivan paced the squad's effort, while ranking eighth overall out of 222 entries at the Region Championships with a personal-best 8K time of 24:37. Junior Bennett Shaw (17th), sophomore Luis Torres (18th), senior Max Brown (19th) and sophomore Marty Pimentel (25th) rounded out the team's scoring efforts while sophomore Sam Branson (34th) also garnered all-region kudos. 

The Eagles turned in a third-place finish at the UAA Championships, the program's best finish at the event since 2009, with Sullivan's third-place finish enabling him to capture First Team All-UAA honors, the first Emory runner to earn that distinction since 2009 (Paul Winterhalter & Charlie Meade).  Emory earned an at-large to the NCAA D-III Championships, its fifth straight to the coveted event, where it finished 25th. 

Sullivan was named the team's Most Outstanding Performer after turning in a solid campaign that saw him score for the Eagles in all seven of his competitions.  Sullivan closed the year with a flourish, ranking as the team's No. 1 runner in the last four races of the season including the NCAA South/Southeast Championships with his personal-best time of 24:37 ranking as the fourth-fastest time in program history. 

Marty Pimentel was tabbed as the Most Improved Runner after emerging as a key contributor, scoring in six of his seven races. He ranked among the team's top three finishers on five occasions and was the Eagles' top performer at the season-opening Georgia DIII Invitational and the JSU Foothills Invitational.  He established a pair of personal-bests during the year, the first coming at the Furman Classic and the other at the NCAA South/Southeast Championships where his 25:20 placed him 25^th overall.

Bennett Shaw received the Coaches' Award, symbolic of dedication, leadership and inspiration.  Consistency was a trademark of Shaw's season, scoring in all seven of his meets.  He was among the team's top three runners in six competitions including the NCAA South/Southeast Championships when he turned in a personal-best time of 25:07. Earlier in the year, he was named the Cross Country Athlete of the Week by the UAA after being the team's No. 1 finisher and 21^st out of 175 hopefuls at the Furman Classic.   

Of the seven runners who competed at the NCAA D-III Championships, five are slated to return in 2018.

Honors and Awards