PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - Julian Jones became the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Male Runner of the Year, leading the Wilmington University cross country teams at the CACC Championships on Saturday afternoon on Belmont Plateau. Both the men and women finished second overall at the Championships.

The women had three student-athletes inside the Top 15, helping the team to 79 points and a second-place finish. All five scorers finished inside the Top 15 on the men's side, collecting 51 points, but falling just two points shy of Jefferson. The Rams also won the women's race with a perfect score of 15 points.

Julian Jones set a new WilmU record at the CACC Championships and on Belmont Plateau with a time of 26:14.84. He was only 0.14 seconds from breaking the CACC record of 26:14.70 by Caldwell's Joey Datta last season. He becomes the sixth Wildcat to ever be named CACC Male Runner of the Year, but the first since Mark Corrigan won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.

The women were the first to run on Sunday and Jefferson proved why they are the third ranked team in the East Region. The Rams finished first through seventh place, scoring a perfect 15 points to win their third straight Championship. The 2013 Wilmington men's team is the only other team to ever have a perfect score at the CACC Championship.

Sammy Banning was the first non-Jefferson runner to cross the line, placing eighth overall with a time of 21:08.05. Twin sister Tiffany Banning followed in 11^th place with a time of 21:36.82 while Angie Chomo finished 14^th overall with a time of 21:54.74. All three were named All-CACC for finishing inside the Top 15.

Amy Chomo placed 20^th overall with a time of 22:36.48 followed by Maddie Minnick in 26^th place with a time of 23:12.37 to round out the Wildcats' scoring. Claudia Rodriguez wrapped up the Wildcats on the 5K course with a 32^nd place finish with a time of 24:19.13.

The men were off next, and Julian Jones gave the Wildcats a chance to three-peat. He beat the field by over 13 seconds, running the 8k at a 5:17 pace. Carter Sparwasser was the next Wildcat to cross, finishing ninth overall with a time of 27:51.61. Julian Rich was 12^th overall with a time of 28:12.29 in his first postseason race followed by Skyler Pearson in 14^th overall with a time of 28:23.55. Reggie Hernandez rounded out the Wildcats' scoring with a 15^th place finish, crossing the line in 28:28.67. All five Wildcats were named All-CACC for finishing in the Top 15.

Cooper Schmidt ran to a 22^nd place finish with a time of 29:45.39 while Braeden Peterson rounded out the Wildcats on the course with a 24^th place in a time of 30:04.09.

Jefferson won the men's event with 49 points, having finishers in third, sixth, 11^th, 13^th, and 16^th, to win by two points.

With their second-place finishes, both Wildcat squads advance to race in the NCAA Division II East Regional Championships in November. The NCAA Regional Championships will be held on Saturday, November 8, on the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.