The Salisbury men’s track & field team has captured the team title at the CAC Outdoor Championship eight of the last nine years.  The Sea Gulls have also captured the last three CAC women’s outdoor track & field crowns.  Can SU extend those streaks on their home oval this weekend?

York’s title in 2011 is the only interruption of Salisbury’s dominance in the men’s championship over the last decade.  The Gulls have even won the first two indoor track & field championships in the last 16 months.  Freshmen standouts Luke Campbell, an All-American during the indoor season, and classmate Xavier Stinson, along with sophomores Richard Newman and Devon Hopkins, give the Gulls a strong and young team for the rest of the conference to chase.

On the women’s side, Mary Washington has been a thorn in SU’s side this year as the Eagles won both the cross country and indoor track & field titles.  The Gulls, whose roster boasts the talents of senior Chelsea Tavik and junior Kara Tolson, took home the hardware three times outdoor and once indoors prior to that.

Several other NCAA Championship qualifiers will also be featured in the two-day meet, including Wesley hurdler Matt Bundy, York distance standout Tim Hartung and others.

The championship starts Saturday (5/4) at 3 p.m. with several field events, some sprint/hurdle trials and the men’s and women’s 10K.  The rest of the field events, and all of the other finals on the track, will be conducted Sunday (5/5).

Here is a look at each team heading into the 2013 CAC Championship meet:

FROSTBURG STATE

Frostburg State enters the 2013 CAC Championships with 33 of the top-10 and 15 of the top-five marks in the league this season.  The Bobcats are strongest in the field events with 20 top-10 and 11 top-five efforts.  Senior Christian Smith holds the second longest effort in the shot put (14.20 meters), while junior Trey Davis is second in the hammer throw (44.66 meters).

Frostburg State enters the 2013 CAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 13 top-10 performances in the conference this spring.  Junior Morgan Carroll and sophomores Alexis Bush and Christina Smith are responsible for eight top-five performances in the league this spring.  Carroll holds the top spots in both the 400-meter dash (1:00.04) and high jump (1.61 meters), while Bush has the furthest distance in the long jump (5.29 meters).

MARY WASHINGTON

Mary Washington enters the outdoor championships after placing second in indoors, and fresh off a first place finish at Gettysburg last week. Mike Atkinson leads a running group that has great versatility, winning the 200 and 800 meters last week. Thrower Matt Cronin and pole vaulter Nick Judy will look to add to the Eagles' point total, as will jumper Nathaniel Saint Preux, who won the long jump and triple jump at CAC indoors

All-CAC sprinter Paige Kelly and hurdlers Brooke Thompson and Michelle Sutherland will look to lead the Mary Washington women to a repeat in outdoor championships after gaining the indoor team title. Thompson will also be a factor in the jumping events. Distance standout Tara Landy and thrower Cheyenne Falls will look to add to the team's point totals as well. School record holder Sam Montgomery will challenge in the pole vault for the Eagles.

SALISBURY

Salisbury is in search of its 13th CAC championship and ninth in the past 10 seasons.  The Sea Gulls will be looking to a number of young faces to lead the way, including Luke Campbell.  The freshman qualified for the NCAA indoor championships in the 60-meter hurdles and will challenge in both hurdle events as well as relays.  Classmate Xavier Stinson has tied the school record in the high jump, clearing 6’ 8.25”.  Sophomore Richard Newman and Devon Hopkins come into the weekend as defending CAC champions.  Newman claimed the 400-meter dash last year while Hopkins won the 400-meter hurdles.  Salisbury has always been strong in the throwing events, and will lean on sophomore Dylan Burkett, who has been named the CAC Field Athlete of the Week three times this season.

Salisbury looks to earn its fourth consecutive CAC championship this week.  Salisbury comes into the championship looking to defend six individual titles from last season.  Senior Chelsea Tavik, a four-time All-American, won the CAC shot put, javelin, discus and hammer throw in 2012.  Junior Kara Tolson  won the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the 2012 CAC championships.  Salisbury will look to sophomore Hailey Spinapont in the distance events, as she recently broke Salisbury’s 5,000-meter school record.

WESLEY

A young and talented Wesley squad should score more than the 41 points tallied at last year’s CAC Championship, in large part due to junior Matt Bundy and freshman Robert Wiggs … Bundy was named the Outdoor Track Performer of the year last season and is on his way to Nationals in the 110m hurdles for the second-straight year.  Wiggs currently sits second in the long jump and will be headed to ECACs while also joining freshmen De’Vaughn Trader and Tahir Carr in the 4x100m Relay.  Freshman Mike Ford as well as senior Rob McCloskey could possibly score in multiple throwing events while first-year head coach Stephen Kimes will look for senior Will Seeley to score in the javelin.

Twila McCrea will lead Wesley in a variety of events at the CAC Championships with several freshman looking to score points in several different areas.  Freshman Kerri Pagels should be among the leaders in the 800m while fellow freshmen Taylor Lynch and Tyesha Moaney will battle for points in the short sprints.  In the throwing events, first-year head coach Stephen Kimes could get points from both Muriel Murray and Damyra Price, as well as Tristin Burris and Jacquelle Boone in the javelin.

YORK

York enters the men's 2013 CAC Track & Field Championship looking to contend for their second championship in three years after last season's second place finish at FSU. York is paced in the distance events by CAC record-holder Tim Hartung. Senior Phil Cavaluchi gives York outstanding talent in the jumps and sprint events while sophomore Sean Welsh is York's top sprinter as he will participate in the 100 and 200. Eddie Kraft anchors the Spartans efforts in the throws.

York looks to improve on their third place finish from last year's CAC Championships as the Spartans bring a talented group of athletes to Salisbury. Jess Miller and Nicole Danielewicz lead the strong Spartan distance squad as York expects to score well in those events. Freshman Bria Jones is a dynamic newcomer who the Spartan coaching staff expects to be a factor at the championships in the sprint events. Junior Laura Rowlands is an experienced jumper that will compete in the long, triple, and high jumps for York. Senior Katie Shinn and freshman Abbey Rhodes lead York's efforts in the throws.