The Emory University women's cross country team had another impressive season with historical performances and some of the best numbers the program has seen.
The Eagles started the season with a second place finish at the JSU Foothills Invitational competing in the 4k. Two weeks later, the team took first place in the 5k at the Julius Johnson Invitational before competing in the Paul Short run taking home a 13th place finish out of 46 schools, some of which were DI programs. Later in the season, the Eagles turned in a fourth place performance at the UAA Championships and a second place finish at the NCAA South Regional Championships. Emory completed their season with a 25th place finish at the NCAA Championships.
Senior Annika Urban had one of the most historic seasons in school history, winning every event she competed in except for one. She started the season where she left off running a 13:50.43 in the 4k at the JSU Foothills Invitational, the only athlete at the event to break the 14-minute mark at the event. At the Julius Johnson Invitational, Urban ran a 17:44 5k to win her second event of the season while no other runner at the meet broke the 19-minute threshold. Her time of 17:44 became the fastest 5k time in program history and the fastest run since 2002. Her best time came from the Paul Short Run where she ran a 20:22 to win the event against 382 other runners. She set another program record at the Paul Short Run beating the previous time by 37 seconds. Urban won her fourth consecutive meet of the season at the UAB Blazer Classic where she ran a 20:44, her second straight sub-21 minute time of the season. She continued to write her name in the history books becoming the first individual champion at the UAA Championships since 2001 with a time of 21:14 to win the title before crossing the finish line with a time of 22:29 to win the NCAA South Regional, her sixth consecutive individual win before ending her incredible cross country career with a sixth place finish at the NCAA DIII Championships with a time of 22:09 to earn yet another All-America honor.
Freshman Luna McCauley emerged as one of the top runners this season with hopes of continuing her strong efforts for seasons to come. She started the season with an eighth place finish at the Julius Johnson Invitational registering a time of 19:45 in the 5k. She started her first 6k of the season with an 80th place finish (22:34) before posting her season-best time of 22:32 at the UAB Blazer Classic finishing 20th out of 149 athletes. She ran a 23:13 at the UAA Championships to finish 30th overall.
Junior Helena Kummings also made a name for herself this season competing in seven events placing in the top five for the Eagles in four out of seven meets. She placed 26th in the 4k at the JSU Foothills Invitational with a time of 15:32 to start the season. She followed that with a 13th place finish at the Julius Johnson Invitational (19:56) before taking 95th out of 383 at the Paul Short Run (22:42). She registered her season-best time at the UAB Blazer Classic with a time of 22:57 and ran a 23:05 at the UAA Championships to finish 27th out of 75 athletes.
An array of honors came in for the Eagles from both the conference and national organizations. After winning her third consecutive title at the Paul Short Run, Urban was named the USTFCCCA NCAA DIII Women's Cross Country National Athlete of the Week. She also earned All-America honors for her sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships and All-UAA honors for her first place finish at the UAA Championships. Seven Eagles garnered All-Region honors for their finishes at the NCAA Regional Championship. Emory placed six athletes on the USTFCCCA Academic All-America list for their efforts in the classroom this season.
The Eagles earned the following honors for the 2022 season:
USTFCCCA All-American |
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6th place |
Pittsburgh, PA (Fox Chapel) |
All-South/Southeast Region |
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1st |
Pittsburgh, PA (Fox Chapel) |
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8th |
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11th |
Windsor Locks, CT (Suffield Academy) |
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12th |
Stone Mountain, GA (The Paideia School) |
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16th |
Simpsonville, SC (J.L. Mann Academy) |
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23rd |
Jacksonville, FL (The Bolles School) |
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26th |
West Chester, PA (West Chester Henderson) |
All-University Athletic Association |
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First Team (1st Place) |
Pittsburgh, PA (Fox Chapel) |
USTFCCCA All-Academic Team |
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Windsor Locks, CT (Suffield Academy) |
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Jacksonville, FL (The Bolles School) |
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Stone Mountain, GA (The Paideia School) |
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West Chester, PA (West Chester Henderson) |
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Pittsburgh, PA (Fox Chapel) |
USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week |
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Pittsburgh, PA (Fox Chapel) |
Oct. 4 |
UAA Athlete of the Week |
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Pittsburgh, PA (Fox Chapel) |
Sept. 6, Sept. 19, Oct. 3, Oct. 17, Nov. 21 |