The University of Mary Washington and Salisbury University have combined to win all 36 Capital Athletic Conference men's and women's cross country championships since the inception of the conference in 1991.  The battle for top honors in both races will likely come down to the Eagles and Sea Gulls again this year.

The 2009 CAC Cross Country Championship will be hosted by Hood College Saturday (11/7) at Heritage Farm Park in Walkersville, Md.  The women's championship race begins at 11 a.m., followed by the men's chase at noon.  The awards ceremony will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m.

Click here to the championship website.

The competition will include runners from all nine CAC institutions for the first time in conference history as St. Mary's joins the chase this season.

When the gun fires for the men's 8,000-meter run over the mostly grass course that features several rolling hills, the teams will try to unseat Salisbury from the top of the podium.  The Sea Gulls have won the last four championships, six of the last seven and eight of the last 12. 

Mary Washington has won two men's titles this decade (2001 and 2004) after capturing top honors in eight of the first nine years of conference championship competition. 

In the women's 6K event, Salisbury is also the defending champ, having won four of the last five crowns.  UMW, which took top honors in 2007, won all but one team crown from 1991 through 2003, with the exception being the Sea Gulls' title in 1996. 

The top 15 runners in each race will earn a berth on the All-CAC team, with the top seven earning first-team recognition.

Here is a look at each team heading into Saturday's championship race:

GALLAUDET

The Gallaudet University women's cross country team is set to finish as a team this year in the conference championships. The Bison will be led by juniors Rose Ritz and Kayla Castro, who should finish in the Top 50. Freshman Amy Bachtel has had a solid rookie campaign for the Buff and Blue.

The Gallaudet University men's cross country team members will run for their pride at the conference championships as the Bison don't have enough runners to count as a team. Freshman Max Wilding is the top runner for the Bison and will look for a Top 50 finish. Fellow freshman Richard Camacho has also compiled a solid rookie season. Senior James Martin will run in his final CAC championship race.

HOOD

Senior captain Jessica Stanley will vie for all-conference honors this Saturday on Hood's home course. Stanley was Hood's top finisher in six races this fall.

On the men's side, senior William Andrews and freshman Brett Shelley will vie for all-conference honors. Andrews was Hood's top finisher in three races this fall.  

MARYMOUNT

Freshman Katie Stuver looks to finish in the top 15 in the conference.  She has been the top MU runner in every meet she has run this season.  Therese McMahon is looking forward to improving on her 21st place finish from last year. All of the other runners have a goal to run their best times of the season.

Freshman Mark Flores is looking to finish among the top five rookie runners in the CAC and break 30 minutes for the 8K.  He has been the Saints' top runner in every meet this season.  As on the women's side, each runner aims to turn in his best time of the year.

MARY WASHINGTON

The University of Mary Washington men's cross country team will look to regain top honors in the CAC Championships, led by a senior-laden squad that has been ranked regionally all season. Defending CAC Runner of the Year Frank DeVar leads a group that includes Brian Fulton, Jake Pattyson, Matt Cash, Mo Yousuf, and Jason Driscoll. The Eagles opened the season with a first place finish at Washington & Lee, and have competed in top meets at Dickinson, Lehigh, Carnegie-Mellon, and Elizabethtown.

University of Mary Washington head coach Stan Soper's women's squad, led by Kristy Witek, a two-time CAC Runner of the Week, will recapture the CAC Championship in 2009 with a young squad that has been ranked regionally all season by the USTFCCAA.  Nina Pfeiffer is the lone senior for the Eagles, with juniors Witek and Sarah Dawes serving as two of the Eagles' top harriers this season. Michaela Sands, Madalyn Crowell, and Mara Cate will look to boost the Eagles to the title after finishing second in the championships a year ago.

SALISBURY

The Salisbury men are looking for their fifth consecutive and ninth overall CAC Championship. The Sea Gulls top runners this season have been junior Chris Barnard, senior Travis Boccher, senior Carl Blickle and freshman Stephen Berstler. The Sea Gull men have placed in the top three of five or six races they have competed in this season.

On the women's side, the Sea Gulls are looking to repeat as they took home the CAC Championship in '08, for the program's fifth overall CAC championship. SU will be led by juniors Masha Berge, Jennifer Musemeci and Kristin Stromberg plus sophomore Becca Stinner.

ST. MARY'S

The young men's harriers from St. Mary's will be looking to make an immediate impact at their first-ever CAC championships.  The Seahawks will be paced by freshman Dan Swain, a two-time CAC runner of the week honoree in 2009.  Looking to join Swain in leading St. Mary's to the forefront of the team standings will be freshmen Nick Pasko and Quint Frauman.

The fledgling women's program at St. Mary's is hoping to finish in the top four at their first-ever CAC championships and will be led by freshman Katie Phipps.  Freshmen Kristin Hay and Margaret Lillie will also push the Seahawks to a strong finish at the championships.

STEVENSON

Stevenson's men's cross country program will be sending three individuals to this year's championship who will be looking to place among the top-15 finishers to earn All-CAC honors. Freshman Avior Zynda looks to be the favorite for the Mustangs after having been the team's top finisher in three of its last four races. His second fastest 8k time this season came in his last race on October 17 at the Hood College Open at Heritage Park, site of this year's conference championships. He finished just outside of the top-15 in 16th place with a time of 28:44.37 and was the eighth-place finisher among the seven CAC schools. Freshman Patrick Cristaldi also looks to contend for all-conference honors as he has three top-15 finishes in seven races this season and has been Stevenson's top finisher in four races this season. The third member of this year's team is junior Josh Michael who has conference championship experience as he finished 45th at the 2007 CAC Cross Country Championships while competing for York (Pa.). He had one of his best performances of the year in his last race at the Hood Open where placed 24th in a time of 29:37.65, just off of his 8k season-best time of 29:31.

The Stevenson women's team looks to be one of the top-five teams at this year's CAC Cross Country Championships after revamping its roster from a year ago to include three newcomers. The team's top newcomer is sophomore Julie Bekier who has been the team's top finisher in the last five races. Her best 6k time of the season came at the Don Cathcart Invitational back on September 26 in a time of 25:39. However, she placed seventh among the 42 competitors from the seven CAC schools at the Hood College Open on October 17 at Heritage Park, site of this year's conference championships. The other top newcomer for the Mustangs is freshman Meghan Najewicz who has been the team's second-fastest runner in three of the four races she has competed in this season. Senior Nicole Nash also looks to help Stevenson improve upon its fifth-place from a year ago where she placed 30th. The Mustangs also look for big contributions from senior Brooke Witherow and junior Lauren Redding each of whom placed in the top-50 at last year's CAC championships.

WESLEY

The Wesley men will be looking to improve on last year's sixth place finish at the CAC Championships.  The Wolverines have a mix of experience and youth on the roster and are led by senior John Clarke and freshman Terry Harens-Walgreen.

The Wesley women's team hopes to improve upon a seventh place finish at last year's CAC Championships.  The Wolverines have almost completely turned over their roster from a year ago and are led by newcomers Tristin Burris and Kristine Bailey.  One of the two has led Wesley at each race this year and Burris is one of the fastest Wolverines all-time at both 5,000 and 6,000 meters.  Bailey joins her as one of the fastest at the longer 6K distance and is within reach of the 5K chart.

YORK

The York College women's cross country team enters the 2009 CAC championships sporting one of their best squads in recent history. Led by senior Melody Parshall, the Spartans have won three invitational meets this season. Parshall herself has captured an individual victory in 2009, taking the Goucher Classic on October 10, while notching second and third place finishes at the York Invitational and the Albright Invitational respectively. Reigning CAC Rookie-of-the-Year Corie Thompson and freshman Tuesday Wilson have each put together strong 2009 campaigns as each could make a legitimate push for All-CAC honors.

The York College men's cross country team comes into the 2009 CAC championships with high hopes following a strong regular season campaign. The Green and White captured a trio of invitational victories including taking first at the Hood Invitational at Heritage Farm Park - the site of this year's conference championships. Senior Ryan Janes has been on a hot-streak as of late, highlighted by his team-best fourth-place finish at the Hood Invitational. Four juniors - Andrew Friesema, Bret Kilefner, Matt Provonche, and Paul Wallace - and a freshman - Steven Childres - give the Spartans a solid chance at a high finish at this year's championship meet.