PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – For the first time this year, the Wilmington University men's cross country team finished first in the Jack St. Clair Memorial as the women placed fifth at the Belmont Plateau on Saturday afternoon.

The men finished first out of 16 collegiate teams after earning 46 points. The women finished in fifth place, earning their highest rank of the season as they earned 166 points.

Sophomore Garrett Checchi led the men's team in the 8K with a time of 27:22.8 to finish second out of 160 runners. Wilmington had Michael Dowd, James Kennedy, and Will Rehrig finish right behind each other in the ninth, 10^th, and 11^th place spots. Dowd would come across first out of the three with a time of 28:17.9, as James Kennedy finished 10^th with a time of 28:21.1. Rehrig was one second behind Kennedy with a time of 28:22.1.

Shannon Dooley was not far behind either, as he finished 15^th overall crossing the finish line with a time of 28:37.2. Jayven Davis would round out the men with a time of 41:03.5, finishing 146^th overall.

Freshman Annabel Cortez crossed the finish line first for the Wildcat woman in 19^th place with a time of 25:58.0 in the 6K. Grace Slate was the second scorer for the women in 27^th place, finishing with a time of 26:28.3. Julia Merritt was five spots behind her with a 32^nd place finish with a time of 26:44.7.

Allyson Kelly clocked in with a time of 27:39.9 to finish 40^th overall, with Alexa Crowell finishing 62^nd overall with a time of 29:11.5. Rosemary Gillam was the sixth runner to finish, placing 65^th with a time of 29:16.2, while Nicole Harris finished right behind in 66^th place with a time of 29:25.1.

Emily Kockott would round out the women with an 86^th place finish with a time of 30:56.2.

The men finished first out of 16 collegiate teams, while Eastern claimed the top spot out of 12 teams in the women's 6K with only 29 points.

The Wildcats will take part in the CACC Championships on Sunday, October 28 with the men looking to go back-to-back as they race first at 10:00 a.m. with the women right after at 11:00 a.m., who finished second last year. The meet will be held at the Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia, Pa.