2014 EMORY WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY RECAP

With a battle-tested group of veterans leading the way, the 2014 Emory women’s cross country team enjoyed a fine season, upholding the program’s reputation as one of the top programs in the nation.

One of the team’s highlights was qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championships for the 10th straight season and for the 23rd time in the past 24 campaigns.   Emory earned the right to compete at nationals after posting a first-place performance at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships, the 24th consecutive year that it had finished second or higher and the program's first title since 2011.   Emory had five runners among the top 19 overall finishers, highlighted by senior Tamara Surtees who earned all-region honors for the fourth time in her career after crossing the finish line in the No. 4 spot out of 193 entries with a 6K time of 22:14.  Surtees followed that performance at Regionals with a 34th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, enabling her to become the Eagles' first All-American since 2006.  

Other Emory runners who raced to all-region kudos included seniors Marissa Gogniat (8th place), Stephanie Crane (18th place) and Elise Viox (19th place), freshman Halle Markel (13th place) and sophomore Sophie Cemaj (25th place).  

In addition, to its No. 1 finish at NCAA Regionals, Emory recorded four other first-place performances including the Clara Bowl Invitational, the Furman Classic, the Gulf Coast Stampede (5K) and the JSU Foothills Invitational (5K).

Emory finished third at the conference championships, its best showing since 2011, and was led by Surtees, whose fifth-place finish allowed her to land First Team All-UAA honors.

Honors and Awards