A stellar season that saw the Eagles land an All-American in 2021 leads into this year where the Emory University women's cross country team looks to continue to build towards becoming a national contender.
A 19th place finish at the 2021 NCAA Championship, the team's highest finish since 2007, and the departure of just two of the seven runners who competed at the national meet have led to a promising start to the 2022 season. Head coach Linh Nguyen looks to defend his title as the South/Southeast Region Women's Coach of the Year as he leads the Eagles to another successful season.
After turning in an All-American performance in both cross country and track & field last season, Annika Urban returns for her senior season with a chance to reach previously unforeseen heights in the Eagles program. Urban recorded the third fastest time in program history at the NCAA Championships in 2021, crossing the finish line in 21:15, good for 12th place, and looks to continue placing her stamp all over the Emory record book in her senior season.
Also returning for the Eagles is sophomore Liesl Scherrer, who proved herself an indispensable member of the team last season scoring in all six meets she competed in and placing no lower than third for Emory. Scherrer comes into the season with an All-Region honor already on her resume and hopes to add to her awards collection in her second season with the Eagles. Senior Lauren Anshen returns for her senior season having finished in fourth amongst the Emory contingent at the NCAA Championships and looks to step into a bigger leadership role this season.
Other returning members are junior Helena Kummings and sophomore Ellie Long who were the sixth and seventh runners, respectively at the national meet this past season.
The Eagles will also welcome newcomers Karsten Bobb, Morgan Gallivan, Claire Hu, Katherine Kennedy and Luna McCauley to the 2022 roster.
The Eagles will begin the 2022 campaign at the JSU Foothills Invitational in Jacksonville, AL on September 2nd with hopes of starting the season off on a high note. This marks the first time Emory has competed at this meet since the 2019 season. The Eagles will compete in two additional 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 compete in the Alexander Asics Invitational for the second consecutive season, finishing in 12th place during the 2021 season, when they travel to Fairburn, GA on October 1st. Emory will round out the regular season at the UAB Blazer Classic, having finished eighth at the meet during the 2021 season, two weeks later in Montevallo, AL.
The Eagles will begin their postseason run at the UAA Championships on October 29th where they will play host to all of the UAA conference teams at the Nash Farm Battlefield course in Hampton, GA. The Eagles registered a fourth place finish at the conference meet last season and look to finish on the podium this season for the first time since 2017. Emory will follow up the conference championship at the NCAA South Regional Championships in Newport News, VA on November 12th where the team will look to defend their title as regional champions. This year the NCAA Championships will take place in Lansing, MI on the Forrest Acres course on November 19th where the Eagles will look to improve upon their 19th place finish in the 2021 season.