The Emory men’s and women’s cross country teams each came away with fifth-place finishes at the University Athletic Association Championships. The meet was held Saturday at Franklin Park in Boston, with Brandeis University serving as the host institution.
The men’s side finished with 122 points. No. 22-ranked Carnegie Mellon captured its first conference crown since 2005, registering 53 points, 15 points better than runner-up and No. 16 Washington University. The University of Chicago took home third place (78 pts.) while New York University was fourth with 81 points.
Senior Lukas Mees shined for the Eagles, clocking a personal-best 8K time of 25:02 that placed second in the 76-runner field. Josh Clark of Wash U won the men’s race with a showing of 24:56. By virtue of his second-place finish, Mees earned First Team All-UAA honors, the first Emory men’s runner to earn that distinction since 2009 when Charlie Meade and Paul Winterhalter finished third and fourth, respectively, at the league championship. Junior Michael Sisario was the second Emory runner to cross the finish line with his effort of 25:43 good for 17th place. Rounding out the Eagle scorers were sophomore Max Brown (25:55, 30th), junior Michael McBane (26:02, 33rd) and freshman Bennett Shaw (26:18, 40th).
The 14th-ranked women tallied with 107 points, just five points from fourth-place Brandeis. No. 5-ranked Washington University brought home its second consecutive title, totaling 35 points. Rochester claimed the No. 2 position (83 pts.) while Chicago was third (91 pts.). The Eagles saw three their top three performers place among the top 20 out of 80 runners, led by senior Elise Viox whose 6K showing of 22:22 ranked eighth in the field, and which enabled her to claim Second Team All-UAA kudos. Senior Aileen Rivell turned in a 22:51, good for the No. 18 spot, while sophomore Hanna Saadegh-Vaziri placed 20th with a time of 22:53. Sophomore Gabrielle Stravach (23:00, 27th) and junior Mia Eisenhandler (23:09, 34th) closed out the team’s scorers.
Emory returns to action on Nov.14 when it travels to Kernstown, Virginia, to compete in the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships.