SALEM, Va.- EMU Cross Country completed the regular season portion of their 2026 campaign on Saturday morning, lacing up their racing shoes at the South Region Showdown at Green Hill Park in Salem, Va. With temperatures in the low 50s, it was perfect running conditions for the competitive field of runners who took to the flat and fast course that has hosted several ODAC championships.
 
Erin Loker, Claire Hurst and Sarah Wheeler represented the women's team in the 6k (3.73 miles), and all three of them did the Royals proud by setting new personal bests in the distance.

Kensington Black of Ohio Northern won the race in a time of 21:51.8, helping lead the Polar Bears to a convincing team victory with a low score of 47 points.

Highlights

• Team Score: N/A
• Loker finished 22nd out of 139 runners, clocking in at a time of 23:29.4 for a new PR in the 6k. With that time, Loker has move up to 10th on EMU's All-Time 6k list.
• Hurst crossed the finish line in a time of 26:00.4, good for 73rd place and a PR by almost a minute and a half.
• Wheeler completed the course in 29:07.4, a 2:07 improvement from her previous 6k personal best.
• Fortie Chipeta finished the day for EMU by running a time of 38:32.1 in her first college 6k. 

What's Next
EMU Cross Country will put their fitness to the test against the best of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference at the annual ODAC XC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31. The conference championship meet gets underway with the women's 6k at 10 a.m., followed by the men's 8k at 11 a.m.

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the EMU cross country program this year, follow EMU Athletics on Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.