The Emory cross country teams got their seasons underway on Friday morning, having traveled to Acworth, Georgia to compete in the Kennesaw State Stan Sims Opener meet. The men competed in a four-mile race while the women ran a 5k race. Competing against NCAA Division I opponents Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, and Kennesaw State along with Brewton-Parker, both the men's and women's teams took fourth of five teams with a number of freshmen making solid first impressions in their first collegiate meet.

A pair of newcomers led the way for the men's team on Friday, with freshmen Ryan Van de Berghe and Dalton Lowery being the top-two individual finishers for the Eagles at the event. In their first collegiate action, Van de Berghe raced to a 20^th place finish with a time of 20:13.61 while Lowery came in close behind in 23^rd, crossing the finish line at 20:22.93. Rounding out the top three times for Emory was junior Lucas Moskovitz. The junior clocked in at 20:30.13 to finish 28^th overall.

The men's team got a glimpse at a few other rookies as well, with freshmen Parker Carrus, Carsen Valenta, and sophomore Jacob Zalis all finishing in the top-45 of all runners in their first collegiate action. Carrus finished in 37^th with a time of 20:45.66, Valenta crossed in 38^th at 20:49.38, and Zalis in 41^st at 21:03.52.

Rounding out the scores on the men's side was sophomore Nicholas Krol in 43^rd with a time of 21:12.77, sophomore Hiromu Sakuma in 51^st with a time of 22:02.81, and senior Patrick Latting in 52^nd with a time of 22:18.25.

A new face also led the way for the women, with freshman Ashlyn Pallotta racing to a 20^th place finish and being the first Eagle to cross the finish line. The Chattanooga, Tennessee native clocked in at 18:41.20 in her first collegiate meet. Sophomore Cameron Gupta was Emory's next runner to finish when she crossed the finish line in 19:20.00 to place 34^th overall. Rounding out the top-three for the Eagles was freshman Davis Johnson, finishing her race in 19:25.11 in 36^th place.

Also finishing in the top-50 of runners at the meet was freshman Rowan Miller and senior Jenna Daly. Miller placed 39^th with a time of 19:31.73 while Daly crossed in 48^th place with a time of 20:09.34.

Rounding out the times for the Eagles are sophomore Payton Fleming in 54^th with a time of 20:34.31, freshman Avery McAdams in 58^th with a time of 20:51.35, freshman Ryleigh O'Donnell in 59^th with a time of 21:10.72, and freshman Sophia Powell in 62^nd with a time of 22:22.88.

The cross country teams will be back in action in a couple of weeks when they travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the Queen City Invite hosted by Queens University. The meet will take place on Friday, September 13th at McAlpine Creek Park.