The Emory men's and women's cross country teams are headed to the NCAA DIII Cross Country Championships tomorrow, November 23rd. This year's Championships will be held at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky, and Spalding University will be the host institution for the meet. The men's 8K race is set to begin at 10:45 a.m. (EST), followed by the women's 6K competition at 11:45.

The men's squad holds down the No. 19 position in the most recent U.S. Track and Field Cross country Coaches Association Poll, which is an 11-spot improvement over its previous ranking of 30^th. The Eagles are coming off a first-place finish at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships. All seven of Emory's participating runners broke the 26-minute mark and in the process, earned all-region accolades by placing within the top-35 runners. Junior Jack Whetstone paced Emory in that race, taking the top spot out of 239 runners with his time of 24:49, which led to him capturing the USTFCCCA award for NCAA South/Southeast Regional Male Athlete of the Year this week. Saturday will represent the seventh consecutive appearance at nationals and will mark the 23^rd appearance all-time for the men's program.

The women's team is making its 15^th consecutive and 30^th overall appearance at nationals. The Eagles enter the race ranked 26^th, according to the USTFCCCA poll released this week. The women's side finished as the runner-up at the NCAA South/Southeast Region Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, which gave the squad an automatic berth to nationals. The Eagles trailed only Washington & Lee as they accrued 85 points in the event, compared to the Generals' 36-point total. The Eagles came away with six all-region performers, led by junior Susie Martin, who clocked a 21:43 on her way to a fifth-place effort out of 239 entries. This appearance at nationals will be the squad's 15^th straight and its 30^th overall appearance.

Both teams raced at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park earlier this season (Sept. 21st) at the Louisville Sports Commission Classic competition with the Eagle men placing 4^th out of 21 teams and the women 6^th out of 50.