The 2021 Emory women's cross country team had a stellar season with some historical individual performances and some of the best finishes as a team that the program has seen in years.

Head Coach Linh Nguyen led the Eagles to top five finishes in five of eight meets in his second full season at the program's helm. Emory's best performance came in the final meet of the season at the NCAA DIII Championships, its 16th consecutive appearance, where they finished in 19th place which is the highest finish for the program since 2007. The Eagles also finished in first place at the NCAA South Regional Championships marking the first time they have finished atop the region since 2018. The Eagles highest regular season finish came at the Converse Kickoff where they finished in second place trailing first place by just three points. The Eagles capped their season with one All-America honor and six All-Region athletes to bookend their outstanding season.

Junior Annika Urban had a season for the ages setting multiple program marks and earning All-American status marking the first Eagle to do that since 2017. Urban finished the year having finished in the top 12 in each of the seven meets she competed in and in the top two in five of them. Urban ran one of the best races by an Eagle in the program's history at the NCAA DIII Championships. Finishing in 12th place, the second best mark at the NCAA Championship by an Eagle in program history, Urban ran a blistering 21:15 6k which was a new personal record and is the fastest time by an Eagle in program history. Urban finished atop the podium the week beforehand at the NCAA South Regional Championships where her time of 21:43 saw her finish as the South/Southeast Regional Female Athlete of the Year. On top of her other major accolades, Urban also earned All-UAA First Team distinctions thanks to her second place finish at the UAA Championships. After this season, Urban now owns three of the fastest 6k times in program history.

Senior Bella Racette emerged as one of the top runners for the Eagles during the 2021 campaign finishing in the top three of Eagles runners in four of the five meets she competed in. At the NCAA DIII Championships, Racette placed second amongst the Eagles contingent and 90th overall thanks to her season best time of 22:24. Racette, finishing second for the Eagles and third place overall, raced to All-Region acclaim and a third place overall finish at the NCAA South Regional Championships.

In her first year with the program freshman Liesel Scherrer proved to be an indispensable member of the team with hopes of being one of the Eagles top runners for years to come. Competing in six total meets, Scherrer finished in the top three for Emory in all of them and finished in second place in four meets. Scherrer's top time of the season came at the NCAA DIII Championships where she crossed the finish line in 22:45 to finish in third for the Eagles and 150th overall. Scherrer matched her season best time at the Converse Kickoff where she registered a tenth place finish, her second highest of the season. Scherrer raced to All-Region acclaim at the NCAA South Regional Championships where she registered a fifth place finish to help the Eagles win the meet.

Junior Lauren Anshen continued her upward trajectory on the team finishing in scoring position in four of the seven meets she competed in. Registering a fourth place finish amongst the Eagles contingent at the NCAA DIII Championships, Anshen put her stamp on the 2021 Emory squad with hopes of being an even more integral member in 2022. Anshen also earned All-Region honors for her performance at the NCAA South Regional Championships.

In addition to the runner's successes, Nguyen was named by the USTFCCCA as the South/Southeast Region Women's Coach of the Year.

Also competing for the Eagles were seniors Lauren Cunild and Eileen Laverty.

Honors and Awards