SALISBURY, N.C. – The Emory & Henry University Men's & Women's Cross Country Teams got the 2024 season started on Saturday morning, competing at Catawba's Fleet Feet Invitational. The men's squad took second place while the women's squad was third.

The Basics
EVENT – Catawba Fleet Feet Invitational
HOST – Catawba College
MEN'S RESULT – 2nd/4
WOMEN'S RESULT – 3rd/4
LOCATION – Salisbury, North Carolina
VENUE – Salisbury Community Park

The Women – 5K (3.11 miles)
   Junior Delaney Eller (Salem, Va.) finished seventh to lead the Wasps with a time of 19:33. Sophomore Kennedy Harris (Mineral, Va.) was 17th in 21:04 while junior Elise McKinney (Church Hill, Tenn.) ran a 21:37 to place 22nd.
   Sophomore Maddy Fiscus (Crockett, Va.) squeezed into the top 25 with a 22:12 while sophomore McKenzie Tate (Wytheville, Va.) was 26th in the same time. Sophomore Maya Turner (Midland, Va.) placed 27th with a time of 22:31.
   Catawba claimed the team title, sweeping the top six places with eight of the top nine finishers. Hannah Caudill was the individual champion, running an 18:32 to beat teammate Madison Clay by six seconds.

The Men – 8K (4.97 miles)
   Senior Matthew Klapak (Zion Crossroads, Va.) placed 10th as E&H's top finisher, running a 26:42. Junior Miles Baldwin (Willis, Va.) was 14th in 27:13 while junior Samuel Tindall (Fort Defiance, Va.) stopped the watches in 27:24 to take 15th.
   Sophomore Kaleb Elswick (Big Rock, Va.) finished 19th with a time of 27:37 as sophomore Davis Norman (Salem, Va.) rounded out the Wasps' scorers in 22nd (27:47).
   Catawba won the team event with the top eight runners. Tanner Smith claimed medalist honors in 25:37, winning the race by 23 seconds over teammate Oussama Ajala.

Up Next
Emory & Henry will be back in action in two weeks at the Converse Kick-Off in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The meet will serve as the de facto preview meet for November's NCAA Division II Southeast Region Championships which will also take place at Milliken Research Park.

---E&H---