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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - - The NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee has announced the participants for the 2025 NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships and Wilmington University Julian Jones is one of four individuals from the East Region who made the cut.
Julian Jones (Elkton, Md.) set a new Wilmington cross country record and tied the mark set by a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference student-athlete with a second-place finish at the 2025 NCAA Division II East Region Championships last weekend, earning a spot in the National Championships.
Jones is the second WilmU men's runner to earn an at-large bid into the National Championships, joining Mark Corrigan in 2018. Althea Davidson was the first Wildcat to go to Nationals, doing do on the women's side in 2012. The 2013 men's squad placed third at regionals, being the only Wilmington team to earn a trip to the National Championship.
Julian Jones is joined by Southern New Hampshire's Dillon Labonte who placed fourth, Daemen's CJ Johnson who placed seventh, and Jefferson's Dylan Boyle who finished ninth overall. Southern Connecticut State, Roberts Wesleyan, and Franklin Pierce are the teams that will represent the East at the National Championships as well.
Thirty-four teams were selected to participate in each championship. The top three, seven-person teams automatically qualified from each of the eight regions, for a total of 24 teams. Ten additional teams were selected at-large. A minimum of 24 additional individuals were selected to participate in each championship through an automatic qualifier and at-large selection process.
The championships will be held Saturday, November 22 at Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course. University of Wisconsin-Parkside will serve as the host. The women's race will begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, followed by the men's race at 12:15 p.m. Eastern.