After a successful 2021 season, the Emory University men's cross country team returns the bulk of its roster with hopes of self improvement and an improved national position.
With the departure of just one of the top runners at the national meet, Head Coach Linh Nguyen and the Eagles come into this season with lofty goals. Leading the charge for Emory this year are returning fifth year seniors Brett Lucas and Spencer Moore. Lucas was the top performer for the Eagles for the majority of the season finishing in the top two amongst the Emory contingent at each meet he competed in as well as a first place finish for the Eagles at the national meet with a time of 25:00. Moore carved out a spot as one of the top contributors for the Eagles finishing second at the national meet and finishing with the 10th fastest time (24:52) in program history at the Louisville Sports Commission Classic.
One of the top young contributors last season was sophomore David Evans who placed in the top five at six meets last year, the second highest number of all returning members, and finished fourth for the Eagles at the NCAA Championships with a personal best time of 25:09. A quiet start to the 2021 season for junior Tristan Olpin gave way to a triumphant finish as he landed the final scoring spot at the NCAA Championships with a personal best time of 25:32.
Also returning are seniors Andrew Pahnke and Justin Pecore who registered sixth and seventh place finishes, respectively at the national meet this past season and look to step into bigger leadership roles this season.
The Eagles welcome newcomers Brendan Conniff, Nikhil Makker, Evan Manilow, Matt McClure, Lucas Moskovitz, Aryan Shah and Ethan Thompson to the 2022 roster.
The Eagles will open their season at the JSU Foothills Classic in Oxford, AL on September 2nd where they will look to get their freshman acclimated to the intensity of a college meet. Emory has two more meets in September, the Julius Johnson Invitational in Macon, GA on September 16th and the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, PA on September 30th.
The Eagles will open up their October with a short commute to Fairburn, GA on the first where they are set to compete in the Alexander Asics Invitational for the second consecutive year after placing sixth last year. Two weekends later the Eagles will compete at the UAB Blazer Classic in Montevallo, AL as the last regular season meet of the season.
The Eagles will begin the postseason as they play host to the UAA Championships in Hampton, GA on October 29th. The Eagles finished in fourth place at the conference meet last year which matched their highest finish since 2017. Emory will take a couple weeks off before returning to action at the NCAA South Regional Championships in Newport News, VA on November 12th where they look to emerge as regional champion for third year running. Should the Eagles qualify, the NCAA Championships will take place in Lansing, MI on the Forrest Acres course on November 19th with the hopes of improving on their 23rd place finish in 2021.