No. 7 Wake Forest Coasts to Third Place Finish at 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional, Women Place Eighth

Friday, November 11

Louisville, Ky.

Wake Forest University

NCAA Southeast Regional

No. 7 Wake Forest Coasts to Third Place Finish at 2022 NCAA Southeast Regional, Women Place Eighth

11/11/2022 2:16:00 PM | Cross Country

Mackenna Curtis-Collins earned All-Region recognition for the women while Luke Tewalt, Zach Facioni, Aaron Las Heras and Thomas Vanoppen were tabbed All-Region on the men’s side.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Wake Forest men's cross country team finished third at the NCAA Southeast Regionals Friday, marking the second-consecutive top-three finish for the Demon Deacons at the annual meet. Additionally, the women placed eighth, marking the third-straight top-10 finish for the program this season.

As a result of Friday's meet, the men will garner strong consideration for attaining an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Earning a spot in the NCAA Championships would mark the third-consecutive appearance (Spring 2021, Fall 2021 and Fall 2022) and the 12th all-time in program history.

For the men, Luke Tewalt (eighth), Zach Facioni (11), Aaron Las Heras (20) and Thomas Vanoppen (21) earned All-Region honors after finishing in the top-25 Friday as Mackenna Curtis-Collins earned All-Region honors on the women's side after placing 25th.

In the women's 6k, Wake Forest finished with 238 points to finish eighth in the region. The Deacs were paced by Curtis-Collins (20:46.2) and junior Caroline Garrett (21:13.1) as they both placed in the top-50.

Of note, the Deacs were one of only seven teams to have their entire top-five spread finish in the top-62.

In the men's 10k, Wake Forest coasted to a third-place result (88 points) behind top-25 finishes from Tewalt, Facioni, Las Heras and Vanoppen. Joaquin Martinez de Pinillos also had a solid performance as he placed 28th.

The Deacs top-five spread of Tewalt, Facioni, Las Heras, Vanoppen and Martinez de Pinillos all finished within 21 seconds of each other.

Season Highlights - Women's Cross Country

With Friday's result, the Demon Deacons have now finished in the top-10 in three-consecutive meets.
- The Deacs have yet to finish below 11th in any meet this season.
  - At least one runner has finished in the top-25 in each meet.
Currently, the Deacs are ranked ninth in the Southeast Region.
The Demon Deacons have had a solid 2022 campaign thus far, earning several top finishes, including a top-five finish at the Panorama Farms XC 23 Invitational.
This season, the Demon Deacons were led by Mackenna Curtis-Collins, who finished 10^th at the Panorama Farms XC 23 Invitational.
Despite finishing ninth in the ACC, Wake Forest finished eighth in the Southeast Region.

Quotables
"Today we failed to run as a team. When you are not a cohesive unit, you don't win. We have one week to fix the problem." - director of track & field and cross country John Hayes

"The women had a good day. We beat our ranking coming into the meet and it was awesome to see Mackenna finish All-Region in her final cross country race. The women fought hard and kept moving up the entire race. I'm proud of the effort and fight I saw today. They are an incredible group of young women, and I know our future is bright." - associate head coach Ashley Bastron

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now turn their attention to the NCAA DI Men's & Women's Cross Country Selection Show on Saturday, November 12th at 5 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.