From Emory University Athletics

The Emory women’s cross country team recorded a first-place finish at the NCAA D-III South/Southeast Regional Championships on Saturday.

The event was held at the Clara Bowl Course on the campus of Berry College. By virtue of its finish, the squad earned an automatic berths to the NCAA Championships next Saturday (Nov. 22) in Mason, Ohio.

The 23^rd-ranked women’s team paced the 29-team field with 62 points, well ahead of Christopher Newport and Centre College, each of whom finished with 125 points.  It marked the 18^th time in the past 24 seasons that Emory had claimed the South/Southeast Regional title.  Rhodes College was fourth (137 pts.) and Mary Washington rounded out the top five with 142 points.   Senior Tamara Surtees paced the Emory contingent for the sixth straight meet, recording a 6K time of 22:14 that placed fourth out of 205 runners.  Surtees' performance enabled her to capture All-South/Southeast honors for the fourth straight year.  Senior Marissa Gogniat came through with a big effort with her personal-best effort of 22:40 ranking second on the team and eighth overall. Freshman Halle Markel was the third Eagle to score, posting a season-best mark of 23:01 that placed 13^th in the field. Rounding out Emory’s scorers were seniors Stephanie Crane (23:09, 18^th place) and Elise Viox (23:10, 19^th place.).  All five Eagle scorers captured all-region accolades, as did sophomore Sophie Cemaj whose performance of 23:23 slotted her 25^th.