YORK, Pa. - For the second straight year, Christopher Newport junior Grayson Reid and head coach Matthew Barreau took home the top conference honors following a team title for the Captains at the CAC Men's Cross Country Championship. Adding to that, freshman Zachary Witt completed the sweep of the major awards for CNU as the top rookie finisher. 

The Captains secured the top four finishes, placed eight runners in the top 10, and had 10 runners in the top-16 en route to a dominant victory last Saturday in Hershey, Pa. The Captains totaled 16 points, which marked the lowest team total in the 26-year history of CAC men's cross country. The 10 all-conference honorees for CNU is the most in conference history, topping the previous high of eight set by Salisbury in 2010 and 2003. 

Reid, who captured Athlete of the Year honor last season and Rookie of the Year honors in 2014, became the sixth runner in CAC history to capture multiple individual conference titles, joining York's Tim Hartung (2011-13), Mary Washington's Frank DeVar (2008-09), Catholic's Michael Audette (2001-02), Goucher's Jeff Olenick (1997, 1999, 2000), and Mary Washington's Jon Gates (1995-96) in that elite club. He is also just the second runner in conference history to have won Athlete of the Year twice and Rookie of the Year, along with UMW's DeVar. 

CNU captured seven of the eight All-CAC first-team placings to nearly sweep the top squad. Joining Reid on the All-CAC first team were junior Daniel Read, junior Jeff Dover, senior JJ LaPointe, junior Sam Murch, freshman Zachary Witt, and freshman Jason Putnam. Dover (2nd in '15, 2nd in '14) and LaPointe (1st in '14, 2nd in '13) each earned all-conference recognition for the third time, while Read (1st in '15) was a repeat first-teamer. 

Witt narrowly edged Putnam for Rookie of the Year honors as the first freshmen to cross the finish line, becoming the third CNU runner to secure the award along with LaPointe (2013) and Reid (2014). 

A trio of CNU runners earned second team All-CAC recognition with top-16 finishes - senior Andrew Benfer, freshman Cavanaugh McGaw, and sophomore Peyton Artz. Benfer (1st in '15) and Artz (2nd in '15) were both repeat honorees. 

CNU head coach Matthew Barreau was selected by his peers as the men's Coach of the Year for the second straight championship. It was his fifth Coach of the Year honor between both the men's and women's sides since the Captains joined the CAC prior to the 2013 season. 

York, which finished second in the team standings for the second year in a row, landed four runners on the all-conference squad. Headlining the group was junior Grant Dell, who placed fifth overall as the lone non-CNU runner on the All-CAC first team. The runner-up in 2015, Dell has now earned first-team recognition in all three championships he has competed in. 

A trio of Spartans claimed All-CAC second team accolades - junior Andy MacGibbon, junior Alex Smith, and sophomore Benjamin Linne. MacGibbon earned second-team honors for the third straight season, Smith secured all-star recognition for the second year in a row after landing on the first team last fall, and Linne was a first-time honoree. 

Senior Connor Hesselbirg represented third-place Salisbury on the All-CAC squad. Hesselbirg finished 11th to secure second-team honors. He was a first-team honoree in 2015. 

Mary Washington junior Kyle Pfohl was the lone Eagles' runner to capture all-conference accolades, placing 15th.  

Athlete of the Year: Grayson Reid, Christopher Newport (2nd-straight year)
Rookie of the Year: Zachary Witt, Christopher Newport
Coach of the Year: Matthew Barreau, Christopher Newport (2nd-straight year)

2016 All-CAC Men's Cross Country First Team

2016 All-CAC Men's Cross Country Second Team