Emory University junior Tess Gallegos (Kennesaw, GA) has been named by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as the South/Southeast Region Women’s Athlete of the Year.

Gallegos earned the honor following a stellar performance at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships last weekend in Memphis, Tenn., where she claimed first place in the 191-runner field with school-record 6k mark of 21:51.  Her time was 10 seconds faster than runner-up Taylor Stephens of Rhodes College, and helped Emory to a second-place finish out of 25 teams.  Her performance also enabled her to earn University Athletic Association Runner of the Week honors for the first time in her career.

Gallegos has ranked as the team’s top finisher in the four races that she has competed in this year.  Prior to the NCAA Regionals, she paced the Emory contingent and was eighth overall at the UAA Championships (Oct. 30) in New York.

Her effort at Regionals marked the fifth time that an Emory runner had captured the top spot in the event and the first since 2006 when Amy DiBianca accomplished that feat. 

Emory winds up the season this Saturday (Nov. 20) when it competes at the NCAA Division III Championships in Waverly, Iowa.