LAKEWOOD, NJ (Nov. 6, 2026) - Georgian Court Cross Country is set to host the 2026 edition of the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championships. The men's and women's take place this Sunday, emanating from Lakewood, NJ. 

When
Sunday, Nov. 8
Men's Race - 9 am
Women's Race - 10 am

Where
Lakewood, NJ - Ocean County Park

Distance
Men - 8K (map)
Women - 5K (map)

How to Watch
• The CACC and Georigan Court will provide a multi-camera live stream throughout the course and of the awards ceremony via a free-to-view broadcast on the CACC Digital Network.
• The broadcast is produced by Georgian Court's Robbie Fitzpatrick with Andrew Bern calling the action. 
• Live results will be provided by Elitefeats. 

CACC Championship History   
• Since the year 2000, the Georgian Court women have won six Cross Country Championships. Those came in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2007.
• The men hoisted their first trophy in 2022.
• The men's trophy was also the first for Head Coach Mike Murawski in cross country.
• Since 2000, only five men's teams and four women's teams have won team titles. For the women, Jefferson leads the way with 15 championships, including 10 of the last 11. 
• The Felician men have won the most championships with nine, followed by Wilmington with eight. 
• This is the third time this century the CACC Championship meet has been held away from Belmont Plateau and the first time it's been held in Lakewood. 

Last Year's CACC Championship
• Last year at Belmont Plateau, the Jefferson women won their third straight championship. No only did they win it, they recorded a perfect score of 15 points.
• It went beyond that though, as Jefferson finished 1-7.
• They were led by freshman Olivia Grahn who is looking to make it two-for-two on CACC Championship victories in 2026.
• Jefferson also won the men's title last year, their first since 2021. It was a much closer race as the Rams scored 49 points to edge out Wilmington by just two. 
• Georgian Court had a fourth place finish for the men and fifth place for the women. 
• Two Lions made the All-CACC team and race again this weekend. Ryan Pettrow was eighth last year and Sophia Mauro took ninth. 

Last Time Out
• Georgian Court last raced Friday, Oct. 23 at the Adelphi Short Course Showdown, where both the men and women ran a 5K.
• Ryan Pettrow and Richard Riopel each finished in the top-30 for the men.
• Sophia Mauro led the women running a personal-best 5K time.
• Mauro and Dori O'Halloran were each in the top-30. 
• All six Lion men ran season-best 5K times and four of the six ran collegiate best times.
• Not to be outdone, four of the six Lion women who raced also ran collegiate bests. 

Lions This Season
• Georgian Court has competed in six meets with the men racing three 8Ks, two 5Ks and one 6K.
• Ryan Pettrow and Richard Riopel have consistently been the top-two for Georgian Court with Zachary Spoonire the third finisher in all six races.
• The Lions have displayed good depth 1-6 with Luke McCormick, Colin Broadbelt and Stephen Lane all having career-best years.
• On the women's side, Sophia Mauro is rounding into form. She set a new PR in the Lions last race for the 5K and has been GCU's top finisher in each of the last two.
• Mauro has been pushed this year by freshman Dori O'Halloran who has led GCU in four of six races with three top-10 finishes.
• Georgian Court's women's team is also deeper this year than in year's past. The addition of Nena Menard has strengthened the Lions.
• Sophomore Nora Sprunger and freshman Azucena Martinez-Panesso have run as a pack all season long and have provided length to top-five.
• Julisa Ponce Sanchez has had her best season as a Lion and has improved throughout the year. 

About the Meet
• This is the first cross country championship meet Georgian Court has hosted.
• The course will consist mainly of grass with limited asphalt pathways.
• It's a spectator friendly course with multiple ~2,000m loops. 
• The CACC, as usual, does things a little differently. They are one of the only conference that allow just seven runners per team to race.
• They are also one of the only conferences where the women race at the 5K distance. 
• Following the meet, there will be a trophy presentation honoring team winners. The top-15 individual finishers make up the All-CACC team.