Women's Cross Country Program Overview
Beginning with the former Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in the early 1990s, the Rhodes women's cross country program has grown from a new program to holding a position of dominance in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC). The program came of age in the mid-1990s, as the Lynx emerged with the 1995 SCAC Championship. The 1995 title was followed by consecutive titles in 1996 and 1997, another title in 1999, and two more back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.
The Lynx runners have not only achieved success in the conference, but have also consistently finished among the top teams at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championships. Since 1995, Rhodes has finished 5th or better, regionally, including 2nd place finishes in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The team achieved its first Top-25 national ranking during the 1999 season, and again broke into the Top-25 in 2002. In 2002, the team also qualified for the NCAA National Championships for the first time in school history by placing 2nd at the NCAA South/Southeast Regional Championship meet. In 2003, Marie Brandewiede qualified for the NCAA National Championships as an individual by placing 4th in the regional meet. In 2004, Jennifer Emo also qualified for Nationals with a 4th place finish at the regional meet. 2009 was a banner year for the Lynx as, for the first time in program history, the team captured the South/Southeast Regional Championship, placing four runners in the top ten and securing a bid to the National Championships. Placing 26th at the national meet, it was the highest team finish in the program's twenty-plus year history.
As of the end of the 2009 season, the program has produced 13 individual national qualifiers since 1995: Nicole Horvath in 1995, 1996, and 1997; Emily Ferguson in 1997 and 1998 (in 1998, Ferguson won the regional meet in course-record time, and was named NCAA South/Southeast Region Female Athlete of the Year); Lydia Gibson in 1998 and 2000 (in 1998 as the top freshman in the region, and finishing 2nd overall at the 2000 Regional Championship Meet). Elizabeth Wester and Amy Paine in 2001; Marie Brandewiede in 2003; Jennifer Emo in 2004; Taylor Stephens in 2008 (Won the regional meet and was named the NCAA South/Southeast Region Female Athlete of the Year); Cybil Covic in 2008.
In addition to its athletic success, Rhodes prides itself on being one of the premier liberal arts colleges in the country. Consistently ranked among the top tier schools in the nation, Rhodes maintains a philosophy of balance which recognizes the runners as students first, while also providing a structured and successful running program. This philosophy has been attractive to many student-athletes, and has provided an environment that fosters learning, improvement, and fun.
