Friday, November 12
Louisville, KY
Wake Forest University
vs
NCAA Southeast Regional
Wake Forest Men’s XC Win Southeast Regional Crown
11/12/2021 2:15:00 PM | Cross Country
The Demon Deacons will appear in the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the second time since 2001.
LOUISVILLE, KY -- The Wake Forest men's cross country team took the team title at the NCAA Southeast Region Championships Friday morning, marking the best regional finish for the program since the 1993.
Aaron Las Heras, Zach Facioni, Luke Tewalt, Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos, Thomas Vanoppen, Justin Robison and Coen Roberts each placed inside the top-25 for the Demon Deacons to earn All-Region honors.
With taking the top spot in the regional, the Demon Deacons punched their ticket into the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the second time since 2001.
On the women's side, junior Elise Wright finished 33rd to finish as the highest Demon Deacon. The Wake Forest women placed eighth out of 31 Division I teams from the Southeast region.
MEN'S RACE RECAP
Entering the meet as the second-ranked team in the region, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons finished first with 47 points Friday morning. RV Wake Forest and No. 17 Furman claimed the top-two spots in the region to secure automatic bids to next week's national championships.
The Demon Deacons, led by Aaron Las Heras (29:17.9) and Zach Facioni (29:21.3) in second and fourth place, respectively, distanced themselves from runner-up No. 17 Furman over the final 2k of the race.
All seven finished in the top-25, earning All-Region honors.
WOMEN'S RACE RECAP
Elise Wright recorded a 33rd place finish on Friday with a time of 21:07.3 over the 6K course, leading the women's team by 27 seconds. Madeline Rehm (21:34.2) and Gebriella Castro (21:35.9) were the second and third Deacs to cross the line, while Amy Harding-Delooze and Caroline Garrett completed the top-five for Wake Forest.
JOHN HAYES QUOTE
"I'm incredibly proud of our team. The season had not gone the way we expected it to go up until today but our team never wavered through all of the adversity. Today they fought like warriors!"
ASHLEY BASTRON QUOTE
"I'm proud of the effort and fight I saw from the women today. They competed hard and raced fearlessly. We had some adversity hit 24 hours before the race and the rest of the women stepped up to the challenge placed in front of them. It was great to watch them fight hard for each other and control what they could control. Our team finish wasn't as high as we wanted it to be, but after the last 24 hours I'm so proud of what this group of women accomplished today. We have a lot of positive takeaways from this experience and it was inspiring to watch the men crush it and make NCAA's. It was a great day to be a Deac!"
UP NEXT
Wake Forest men's XC will extend its postseason to the NCAA National Championship. The national meet is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
NCAA SOUTHEAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Men's Results / Women's Results
Venue: E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park
Friday, November 12:
Aaron Las Heras, Zach Facioni, Luke Tewalt, Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos, Thomas Vanoppen, Justin Robison and Coen Roberts each placed inside the top-25 for the Demon Deacons to earn All-Region honors.
With taking the top spot in the regional, the Demon Deacons punched their ticket into the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the second time since 2001.
On the women's side, junior Elise Wright finished 33rd to finish as the highest Demon Deacon. The Wake Forest women placed eighth out of 31 Division I teams from the Southeast region.
MEN'S RACE RECAP
Entering the meet as the second-ranked team in the region, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons finished first with 47 points Friday morning. RV Wake Forest and No. 17 Furman claimed the top-two spots in the region to secure automatic bids to next week's national championships.
The Demon Deacons, led by Aaron Las Heras (29:17.9) and Zach Facioni (29:21.3) in second and fourth place, respectively, distanced themselves from runner-up No. 17 Furman over the final 2k of the race.
All seven finished in the top-25, earning All-Region honors.
WOMEN'S RACE RECAP
Elise Wright recorded a 33rd place finish on Friday with a time of 21:07.3 over the 6K course, leading the women's team by 27 seconds. Madeline Rehm (21:34.2) and Gebriella Castro (21:35.9) were the second and third Deacs to cross the line, while Amy Harding-Delooze and Caroline Garrett completed the top-five for Wake Forest.
JOHN HAYES QUOTE
"I'm incredibly proud of our team. The season had not gone the way we expected it to go up until today but our team never wavered through all of the adversity. Today they fought like warriors!"
ASHLEY BASTRON QUOTE
"I'm proud of the effort and fight I saw from the women today. They competed hard and raced fearlessly. We had some adversity hit 24 hours before the race and the rest of the women stepped up to the challenge placed in front of them. It was great to watch them fight hard for each other and control what they could control. Our team finish wasn't as high as we wanted it to be, but after the last 24 hours I'm so proud of what this group of women accomplished today. We have a lot of positive takeaways from this experience and it was inspiring to watch the men crush it and make NCAA's. It was a great day to be a Deac!"
UP NEXT
Wake Forest men's XC will extend its postseason to the NCAA National Championship. The national meet is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 20 at the Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
NCAA SOUTHEAST REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Men's Results / Women's Results
Venue: E.P. "Tom" Sawyer Park
Friday, November 12:
- Women's 6k (8th place)
- 33) Elise Wright - 21:07.3
- 54) Madeline Rehm - 21:34.0
- 55) Gabriella Castro - 21:35.9
- 60) Harding-Delooze - 21:42.5
- 65) Caroline Garrett - 21:45.4
- 111) Hana Catsimanes - 22:34.5
- Men's 10k (1st place)
- 2) Aaron Las Heras - 29:17.9
- 4) Zach Facioni - 29:21.3
- 13) Luke Tewalt - 29:43.3
- 16) Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos - 29:48.6
- 17) Thomas Vanoppen - 29:51.3
- 18) Justin Robison - 29:51.6
- 22) Coen Roberts - 29:56.4
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
Sept. 27, 2025: Coach Jake Dickert Postgame Press Conference Following Game vs. Georgia Tech
Sunday, September 28
Wake Forest Football | Georgia Tech Trailer
Friday, September 26
Football Media Availability (9/24/25)
Wednesday, September 24
Football Media Availability (9/23/25)
Tuesday, September 23