UNO’s Emma Bourg named Louisiana Freshman of the Year 

OFFICIAL LSWA RELEASE

NEW ORLEANS – The accolades keep piling up for freshman Emma Bourg as the Houma native was named Louisiana’s Freshman of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association on Monday afternoon.

In addition to Louisiana Freshman of the Year, she was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, and an All-Southland second-team selection after a top-10 placement in wet and muddy conditions at the Southland Championships in October.

Emma made her collegiate debut at the UNO XC Opener where she finished her 4K in 14:46. Her time at Lake Oaks Park sits ninth on the program’s all-time 4K performance list and is the only mark by a freshman in the top 10.

Her only 5K race of the season took place at the Southern Showcase where she finished in 18:10.1. She finished her first career 6K in 21:42.8 on a very challenging course at the Crimson Classic – a time that also ranks ninth on the program’s all-time 6K performance list.

Emma continued to run well against top competition, finishing in 74th at the NCAA South Central Regionals with a time of 22:27.7 – the third fastest time by a freshman at an NCAA regional in school history. She placed in the top four of UNO’s runners in all five meets this season.

Bourg adds Louisiana and Southland Freshman of the Year honors to an already lengthy list of accomplishments. She was named the 2023 Louisiana Gatorade Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year, the 2023 LA MileSplit Runner of the Year, and won back-to-back individual state championships during her final two seasons at Houma Christian.

She is the second “Louisiana Freshman of the Year” for the cross country program, joining former Privateer great Jana Bulirova, who earned the distinction following the 1999 season.

INTERIM TRACK AND FIELD HEAD COACH BEN HIBBERT
“I’m very happy to see Emma get recognized as not only the best freshman in the Southland, but now in the state of Louisiana as well. She is wise beyond her years and it showed with the composure she raced with this season. She operates at such a high level both mentally and physically – I think we have barely begun to see what she is capable of. We are proud of her and so excited to watch her continue to grow on and off the course.”

ASSOCIATE CROSS COUNTRY HEAD COACH / ASSISTANT TRACK COACH CLAYTON O’CALLAGHAN
“What an amazing accomplishment for Emma! Nobody deserves it more than she does. I could not ask for a better representative of both our team and our school than Emma. She has stepped up since our first day of practice and continues to push herself and her teammates to be better in every aspect of the sport. I know this will bring a ton of confidence to her and the rest of our program as we continue to prepare for the indoor and outdoor seasons.”