Infused with a wealth of talented underclassmen, the 2018 Emory men’s cross country program showed continual improvement, which bodes well for upcoming seasons. 

Emory raced to top-four or higher finishes in five of nine competitions during the year, highlighted by a second-place finish out of 33 teams at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships.  By virtue of their finish at Regionals, the Eagles captured an automatic bid the the NCAA D-III Championships, the program's sixth straight appearance at that competition. In addition, all of Emory's scorers at the South/Southeast Championships ranked among the top 30 overall finishers and in the process brought home all-region acclaim. Junior Luis Torres paced the team's performance at Regionals with an 8K time of 26:05 that slotted him 10th out of 239 entries.  Sophomore Jack Whetstone (15th), senior Bennett Shaw (17th), junior Sam Branson (20th) and sophomore Matt Dillon (28th) also raced to all-region kudos. 

The Eagles turned in a fourth-place finish at the UAA Championships with Torres post a squad-best time of 26:17 that placed 17th overall. 

Torres was named the Most Outstanding Performer after turning in a solid campaign that saw him score for the Eagles in his final five races.  Torres ended the season with a flourish, ranking as the squad's No. 1 performer in the last three and in a total of four meets, including the NCAA D-III Championships when he clocked a season-best 8K time of 25:58.  Other competitions where he finished as Emory's No. 1 runner included the University Athletic Association Championships and the JSU Foothills Invitational.

Whetstone came through with a solid second season in the program, scoring in six of his seven races.  The recipient of the team's Most Improved Runner Award, he finished second or better on the team's results sheet on three occasions and was the Eagles' top performer at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, ranking 76^thoverall out of 343 runners with an 8K time of 26:19.   Whetstone clocked a pair of career-tying best 8K marks of 26:15, the first taking place at the Montevallo Falcon Classic and the second at the NCAA South/Southeast Regionals.

Bennett Shaw received the Coaches' Award, symbolic of dedication, leadership and inspiration, for the second straight season.  Consistency was a trademark of Shaw's final year, as he scored in six of his seven outings.   He was among the team's top three runners in four of the last five and in a total of five races including the NCAA D-III Championships when he was the No. 2 Eagle to appear on the final standings with a season-best 8K effort of 25:59.  He earned all-region recognition for the third straight year after finishing with a time of 26:19.  

Freshman Brett Lucas was chosen as the Most Outstanding Newcomer after competing in seven races and scoring three times. He recorded a season-best 8K time of 26:24, which placed him fifth among the Emory pack and 33^rd out of 227 entries at the Montevallo Falcon Classic.  He also contributed to the team's scoring efforts as the No. 5 finisher at Pre-Nationals with an effort of 26:42.  A member of the UAA All-Freshman Team, Lucas competed at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional and NCAA D-III Championships, turning in a time 26:26 in the latter competition that represented his second-best mark of the season.


Honors and Awards