The Emory men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their 2019 seasons Friday evening (Aug. 30) by venturing to Oxford, Alabama, where they competed at JSU Struts Opener.

The men’s side finished first out of 15 teams with 15 points.  A contingent from Auburn University claimed the runner-up spot with 23 points while North Alabama placed third with 23 points. 

The Eagles registered four of the top seven overall finishers, led by junior Jack Whetstone who paced the 159-runner field by clocking a 5K time of 15:31. Sophomore Spencer Moore was the second Emory performer and fourth overall to cross the finish line with an effort of 15:40. Rounding out the team’s scorers were junior Matt Dillon (15:44, 6^th place), sophomore Brett Lucas (15:45, 7^th place) and sophomore Jon Marcus (15:50, 11^th place).

The women’s race, a 4K affair, saw the Eagles place fourth out of 14 teams with a total of 109 points.  Auburn sat atop the leader board with 28 points while Troy captured second-place honors with 48 points. North Alabama was third with 75 points.  Sophomore Bella Racette paced the Emory pack with a time of 15:15 that ranked 14^th out of 128 entries.  The freshman duo of Leah Clark (15:52) and Annika Urban (15:58) recorded 22^nd- and 23^rd-place finishes, respectively, while junior Ana Morris (16:05, 26^th place) and freshman Shana Fitzmaurice (16:10. 28^th place) accounted for the rest of the Eagles’s scoring effort.

The teams return to action on Sept. 13 when they take part in the UTC Twilight Cross Country Meet in Chattanooga, Tennessee.