2021 Men's Cross Country Season Recap

The 2021 Emory men's cross country squad performed well across the season finishing at the top of the totem pole in the Southeast and with some impressive individual accolades.

Under Head Coach Linh Nguyen the Eagles finished in the top six in all but one meet and helped Emory finish as the top squad at three meets including the NCAA South Regional Championships. By virtue of their first place finish at the regional meet the Eagles earned an automatic qualification into the NCAA DIII Championships which marks the teams eighth consecutive appearance. At the national meet, the Eagles turned in a 23rd-place finish out of 32 teams.

Senior Brett Lucas stepped up big time for the Eagles in his final season with the program, finishing in first place for Emory at five of the seven meets he competed in. Lucas earned All-Region honors as a result of his fourth place finish for the Eagles at the regional meet. At the UAA Championships, Lucas distinguished himself as one of two Eagles to earn All-UAA Second Team acclaim by virtue of his ninth place finish at the meet. Lucas registered a 24:56 8k at the Louisville Sports Commission Classic marking his personal best time as he helped lead the Eagles to a third place finish at the meet. At the NCAA DIII Championships, Lucas distinguished himself finishing as the top runner for the Eagles and 130th overall after posting a time of 25:00.

Despite not competing in the first two meets of the season, senior Spencer Moore was a vital piece of the 2021 Eagles program finishing as a top two finisher for Emory in each meet he competed in and as the top runner in the Louisville Sports Commission Classic. Moore's time of 24:52 in Louisville was the best time by any Eagle all season and is the tenth fastest time in program history. Moore raced to All-UAA Second Team honors at the UAA Championships finishing in tenth place after recording a time of 26:08. Finishing in fifth place at the NCAA South Regional Championships, Moore earned All-Region distinctions finishing just one second behind teammate Lucas. At the NCAA DIII Championships, Moore finished second for the Eagles and 154th overall after registering a time of 25:06.

Senior John Cox was a consistent force for the Eagles finishing in third place amongst Emory runners in five of the seven meets he competed in. His top time of the season came at the NCAA DIII Championships where he crossed the finish line in 25:07 to finish third amongst the Emory contingent and 159th overall. By virtue of his tenth place finish at the NCAA South Regional Championships, Cox earned All-Region acclaim for the second consecutive season.

In his first season with the Emory squad, freshman David Evans proved to be an invaluable member of the team as he hopes to lead the Eagles to new heights in coming years. Evans scored for the Eagles in six of the seven meets he competed in with his top finish coming at the Converse Kickoff where his time of 26:03 saw him finish second amongst Emory runners and 11th overall in the field of 174 runners. Evans earned All-Region honors as well for his 13th place finish at the regional meet.

In addition, Nguyen was tabbed by the USTFCCCA as the South/Southeast Region Men's Coach of the Year.

Also competing for the Eagles this year were seniors Matthew Burke, Tony Di lorio, Jacob Hedgepeth, Jon Marcus, Liam McGuire, Tom Perretta and Andy Shew.

Honors and Awards