York senior Tim Hartung is the two-time defending champion at the CAC men’s cross country championship meet, leading the Spartans to a pair of team titles.  Can Hartung and the Spartans “three-peat” in 2013?

The Spartans will be one of 10 teams, featuring more than 100 competitors, vying for team and individual honors at the CAC Championship Meet, to be held at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md.    The women’s championship race begins at 11 a.m., followed by the men’s chase at noon.

Hartung went on to finish seventh overall and earn All-America honors in the 2012 NCAA Championship race after placing 50^th in 2011, his first national title chase.  A seasoned veteran, Hartung has worked hard at helping the Spartans run as a pack at the large regular-season invitational meets, preparing for the conference and regional championship races.

As a team, YCP scored 32 points to win the 2012 crown, edging Mary Washington (46) and Salisbury (66) for the title.   2012 USA South Conference champion Christopher Newport is one of three new members to join the CAC title chase this year, and several other long-time CAC members have individuals who are improved and hope to compete for positions on the All-CAC first and second team.

The end result should be one of the most competitive and deep championship races in the 24-year history of CAC Men’s Cross Country.

Here is a quick look at each team heading into the 2013-14 CAC Championship race:

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT enters the championship season after placing in the top-three during five of CNU’s six competitions in 2013. Boasting a young nucleus, the Captains have been paced by first-year performers Andrew Benfer, J.J. LaPointe and Billy Rabil in four of the squad’s six meets.  Veterans Samuel Martin and Aaron Zook have also come through with consistent efforts throughout the season as well.

FROSTBURG STATE heads into the CAC Championships looking to improve on last year’s fifth-place finish. Senior Pat Mead returns after taking home Second Team All-CAC honors a year ago. Mead heads into his final CAC Championship with a season-best time of 26:54.6 at Gettysburg two weeks ago. Freshman Brandon Redmond has consistently been the Bobcats’ second-best runner and posted a season-best time of 28:17.1 at Gettysburg.

MARY WASHINGTON enters the championship ranked seventh in the South/Southeast Region, and looking to improve on last year's runner-up finish at the CAC meet. Returning all-CAC performers Jeff Branson and Julian Menk are joined by a deep squad that includes Corey Lyons, Nick Eghtessad, Ian Granger, Kevin Speray, and Chris Markham.  The Eagles have never finished lower than third place at the Championships in its 23-year history, winning 11 titles.

MARYMOUNT looks to improve from its sixth place showing in 2012.  The Saints are led by freshmen Collin Chartier and Carlos Elizondo and seniors Matt Ward and Kevin Farmer.

PENN STATE HARRISBURG has been successful up to this point.  After starting out with some mid -tier finishes at York, Messiah, and Salisbury; the Lions took home the trophy at their own invitational.  Top runner for the squad this year has been freshman Nick Sturm.  Sturm's best finish was good enough for second place overall.  Rounding out the Blue and White's top five has been Kyle Klaboe, Joseph Phifer, Jordan Fuhrman, and Edgar Makimoto.

ST. MARY’S is poised to finally break into the Top 3 after finishing fourth three out of the last four seasons. Leading the charge to place in the Top 3 will be team captains Ian Morgan and David Kersey as well as Tim Carey. The trio has taken turns be the Seahawks' top finisher throughout the season.

Running on its home course, SALISBURY will look to gain its 10th CAC championship.  Salisbury last claimed the title in 2010, the last time the championship was hosted at Winter Place Park.  This will mark the fifth time Salisbury has hosted the championships, Salisbury has won the title in the four previous opportunities to host.  This season, Salisbury has been led by sophomore Thomas Burke, who has been Salisbury’s top finisher in the last four meets.  Senior Nathan Austin has been a leader on the course for the Sea Gulls this year; he was Salisbury’s top finisher in the season-opener at Winter Place Park and shaved more than 1:10 off his time when the team returned to its home course for the Don Cathcart Invitational.  The Sea Gull men have been consistent in their finishes with seniors Joel Anderson and Nick Hanifee, juniors Brandon Horning, George Martinez, and Jeremy Skarda and sophomore Branden Vanderhoof routinely factoring in the scoring for Salisbury.

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA is set for a strong performance at the CAC Championship following a successful string of meets in which several Knights posted career or season bests. Continuing to drop times, the team is coming off a 15th-place finish at the prestigious Gettysburg Invitational where the Knights topped CAC foes Wesley, Marymount and PS Harrisburg. Michael Ward, Kevin Prince and Aaron Barraclough ran personal best 8k times at the race while junior Patrick Gonzalez and Dan Fotheringham achieved season-best times.  Gonzalez, a junior, has led the team in the four meets he has competed in for the team, gradually lowering finishing times in preparation for the championship portion of the season. Ward has been a consistent second runner for the team, finishing behind Gonzalez in every race and placing first at the York (Pa.) meet where Gonzalez did not run.  The Knights have shown they are prepared for a strong performance at the CAC Championship this weekend.

Note:  As a second-year NCAA Division III provisional member, Southern Virginia is not eligible for the CAC team championship/standings.  However, the Knights student-athletes are eligible for all CAC individual awards.  Southern Virginia will be eligible for team recognition in all sports beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.

WESLEY is poised to improve on last year’s seventh place finish at the CAC Championships with Kevin Clements leading the charge. The freshman from Severna Park, Md., has led Wesley in every race this season and has already run the second-fastest 8K in school-history and is just 20 seconds behind the record.  Fellow newcomers in sophomore Carlton Sheppard and freshmen Dominic McAnulty and Adeola James have dropped time consistently all season while junior Alex Dello Buono set a personal-record in his last race and provides good Championship experience for the Navy & White

YORK enters the 2013 championships looking to win its third straight CAC Men's Cross Country championship. The Spartans are paced by last year's Runner of the Year Tim Hartung and a strong supporting class. York returns 2012 All-CAC performers Aaron Robertson and Connor Simpson while veterans Michael Stetson, Wil Murray and Craig Eppler give York an experience pack that should provide the Green and White a good chance to be in the title hunt.