The Emory University men's cross country team pulled out a nail-biting victory at the NCAA South Regional Championships in Newport News, VA on Saturday morning to mark their third consecutive regional championship.
The No. 8 ranked Eagles pulled out the meet win by a meager one point, despite trailing by three points heading into the final kilometer of the race, as they tallied 46 points with each of the teams runners finishing in the top 16. As a result of winning the regional race, the Eagles earned an automatic bid as a team to the NCAA Championships next weekend. The Eagles primary challenger was No. 25 Lynchburg who fell a point shy of the Eagles with 47 to finish in second place. Berry took home the bronze medal posting 103 points in the regional meet. By virtue of finishing in the top 35, each of Emory's seven runners who competed in the regional meet earned All-Region status.
After a fifth place finish at last year's regional meet, senior Spencer Moore improved his placement by one spot this year finishing in fourth place after registering a time of 25:22.8. As has been the case for much of the season, senior Brett Lucas finished just behind Moore finishing the race in 25:24.7 to come in fifth place. Graduate student Ethan Thompson had one of his best days in an Eagles uniform coming in sixth place with a time of 25:32.3 to help Emory earn the meet win. By virtue of finishing in the top 14, Moore, Lucas and Thompson earned automatic bids as individuals to the NCAA Championship meet.
Junior Scott Masterson and sophomore David Evans rounded out scoring for Emory finished back-to-back in 15th and 16th place, respectively with the two being separated by just under a second as Masterson registered a time of 26:15.3 while Evans turned in a time of 26:16.2. Also competing for the Eagles was senior Andrew Pahnke who registered a 19th place finish crossing the finish line in 26:34.5. Senior Justin Pecore was the final Emory runner as he turned in a 25th place finish with a time of 26:57.7.
The Eagles will now turn their attention to the NCAA Championships which are set to take place on the Forrest Acres course in Lansing, MI on Saturday, November 19th.