A young and hard-working Emory women's cross country team enjoyed a fine campaign with many highlights, both on an individual as well as team basis. 

Emory qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships for the sixth straight season and for the 19^th time in the past 20 campaigns where it recorded a 26^th-place finish.   

The Eagles of head coach John Curtin gained entry to the national championships after recording a runner-up effort out of 25 teams at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships held at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tennessee.  Emory had four runners among the top 13 overall finishers, highlighted by junior Tess Gallegos who topped the 191-runner field with a school-record 6K time of 21:51.  Her first-place performance represented the first time since 2006 (Amy DiBianca) that an Emory runner took home the top spot at that event and enabled her to be named as the South/Southeast Region Women’s Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA.  Senior Natalie Fenn and Melanie Frank each captured all-region honors by virtue of crossing the finish line in third and eleventh place, respectively, while juniors Sara Gelb and Sabrina Jeppson, along with sophomore Calley Edwards, also brought home all-region recognition.   

Emory made its presence felt at a number of competitions and registered first-place performances at the season-opening Sewanee Invitational (Sept. 4) and the Berry College Invitational (Sept. 11).  Gallegos crossed the finish line in first place out of 104 runners at the Sewanee Invitational while Fenn topped the Emory contingent and placed fifth out of 124 hopefuls at the Berry College Invitational.

The Eagles also rose to the challenge at the highly competitive Greater Louisville Classic (Oct. 2), a meet that featured a number of NCAA Division I & II programs, finishing runner-up to Division II power Grand Valley State.  Fenn, who would be named the team’s MVP on the year, set the pace for the Emory pack and posted a 16^th-place finish in the 287-runner field with a 5K time of 18:51.

At the University Athletic Association Championships, Emory registered a fifth-place showing with Gallegos and Fenn both earning Second Team All-UAA acclaim.

All-South/Southeast Region
Tess Gallegos                                        Kennesaw, GA
Natalie Fenn                                           Evanston, IL
Melanie Frank                                        Novelty, OH
Sara Gelb                                              Fort Myers, FL
Sabrina Jeppson                                     Atlanta, GA
Calley Edwards                                      Portland, OR

All-UAA
Tess Gallegos (2nd Team)                       Kennesaw, GA
Natalie Fenn (2^nd Team)                          Evanston, IL

USTFCCCA South/Southeast Region Women’s Athlete of the Year
Tess Gallegos                                        Kennesaw, GA

UAA Athlete of the Week
Tess Gallegos                                        Nov. 15                         Kennesaw, GA

United States Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic Team
Calley Edwards                                      Portland, OR
Melanie Frank                                        Novelty, OH
Natalie Fenn                                           Evanston, IL
Sara Gelb                                              Fort Myers, FL
Tess Gallegos                                        Kennesaw, GA

Capital One Academic All-District – Women’s Track and Field/Cross Country
Tess Gallegos                                        First Team                     Kennesaw, GA