OFFICIAL RESULTS  |  OFFICIAL PHOTO ALBUM  |  WATCH ARCHIVED BROADCAST

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (October 24, 2021) -- Sparked by six runners who finished among the top-15 in the individual standings, the Thomas Jefferson University women's cross country team on Sunday captured its seventh-consecutive Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship with a first-place score of 40 points at the league championship race at Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia.

Later in the day, Jefferson's men's squad won its league championship race, as it marked the fourth time under head ccoach Dave Thomas that Jefferson swept the men's and women's events in the same season (2009, 2014 & 2017).

Felician University finished second in the standings with 60 points, as the Golden Falcons were led by Bri Balderas, who won the individual championship in a 5k time of 20:14.0. By winning the race she locked up the CACC Runner of the Year honor in the sport of women's cross country.

HOW JEFFERSON DID IT
Jefferson claimed the women's team title with six runners earning All-CACC honors with top-15 finishes. Kyleigh Percy was the highest Ram runner in the race, as she placed fifth in a time of 20:50.4. Following Percy included Lydia Shaw (8th, 21:08.3), Sarah Brennan (9th, 21:15.7), Brittany Gable (10th, 21:22.5), Olivia Monahan (13th, 21:28.5) and Ana Eshraghi (15th, 21:54.8).

FELICIAN'S STRONG SECOND-PLACE SHOWING
In addition to Balderas, two other Golden Falcons earned all-league status as they finished among the top six in the final standings. Shayla Morales placed fourth in a time of 20:44.3, and Ashley Linares turned in a sixth-place showing with a mark of 21:02.1.

ONE RUNNER, NO PROBLEM
Wilmington had just one women's runner in the race, but what a performance it was from freshman Yailynn Ramirez. Ramirez placed second in the event with a time of 20:24.4, to not only earn All-CACC honors, but also be crowned CACC Rookie of the Year.

SEVERAL SCHOOLS REPRESENTED ON ALL-CACC TEAM
In all, seven schools were represented on the All-CACC Team with at least one runner earning all-league status. In addition to the 10 runners listed above, the five remaining All-CACC honorees included:

→ Ana Gonzalez Martin (Caldwell) 3rd, 20:33.9
→ Sydney Watts (Chestnut Hill) 7th, 21:06.7
→ Jenny Sidarous (USciences) 11th, 21:24.4
→ Karen Herrera (Caldwell) 12th, 21:25.3
→ Amirah Beasley (Georgian Court) 14th, 21:51.0

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 13 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, Thomas Jefferson University, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.