The Emory men's cross country team defended its title on Saturday, claiming first place at the NCAA D-III South/Southeast Region Championships.  The meet was conducted at the Kernstown Battlefield in Winchester, Virginia, with Shenandoah University serving as the host institution.  The Eagles' championship performance enables them to earn an automatic berth to next Saturday's NCAA D-III Championships in Winneconne, Wisconsin.

Emory topped the 30-team field with 86 points, edging runner-up Christopher Newport who finished with 96 points.  Trinity University (100 pts.) and Rhodes College (129 pts.) were third and fourth, respectively, while Lynchburg rounded out the top five with 145 points.

All of Emory's scorers finished among the top 25 with senior Lukas Mees taking home the top spot in the 203-runner field with an 8K time of 25:46.  Mees becomes the first Emory men's runner to finish first at the Regional Championships since 2003 when Phil Hagedorn captured his second consecutive title. Junior Michael Sisario was the second Emory performer to cross the finish line, posting a time of 26:55 that placed him 19^th.  The junior duo of Grant Murphy (27:05.2) and Austin Hunt (27:05.7) ranked 21^st and 22^nd, respectively, while sophomore Max Brown's showing of 27:06 closed out the team's scoring and ranked him 23^rd.  All of Emory's scorers earned all-region recognition as did junior Michael McBane whose effort of 27:08 was good for the No. 25 position.  Also competing was freshman Bennett Shaw who recorded a 57th-place effort (27:55).