Using a combination of veterans and some talented newcomers, the 2011 Emory women’s cross country team turned in a number of outstanding performances this season en route to maintaining its reputation as one of the top D-III programs in the nation.  

Emory qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships for the seventh straight season and for the 20^th time in the past 21 campaigns where it recorded a 24^th-place finish.   

The Eagles earned an automatic berth to nationals after capturing first place in the South/Southeast Region Championships, the 20^th straight year that it posted a second place or better finish and the program’s first regional crown since 2007.   Emory had four runners among the top 11 overall finishers, highlighted by senior Tess Gallegos who earned all-region honors for the third time in her career after posting a runner-up finish out of 197 entries with a 6K time of 22:15.  Freshman Stephanie Crane and senior Sara Gelb each captured all-region accolades by virtue of crossing the finish line in eighth and ninth place, respectively,   while junior Melanie Frank (11^th), senior Sabrina Jeppson (15^th) and freshman Tamara Surtees (23^rd) all were bestowed all-region acclaim.

Emory’s effort the NCAA Regionals represented one of three first-place finishes during the course of the campaign, with the Eagles taking home the top spot at the Berry College Invitational as well as the JSU Foothills Invitational, both of which were 5K events.  Outside of the region, Emory distinguished itself at a pair of high-profile competitions, finishing runner-up to No. 5 UW-Eau Claire out of 32 teams at the Griak Invitational while posting an eighth-place finish out of 43 teams at the UW-Oshkosh/Brooks Invitational.   Frank registered a 14^th-place finish out of 385 contestants at the Griak Invitational (23:11) while Gallegos came in 18^th out of 395 runners at UW-Oshkosh (22:33).
At the UAA Championships, Emory finished third.

Individually, senior Tess Gallegos was named the team's Most Valuable Runner after ranking among the top three Emory runners in all six of her competitions while pacing the Eagles pack on four occasions.  She was the team's top performer at the NCAA D-III Championships, with her time of 22:02 the top mark by any Emory runner during the year and the fourth-fastest in school history, and the University Athletic Association Championships where she captured a spot on the all-league second team.

 Honors and Awards