YORK, Pa. - The University of Mary Washington gained 12 positions while Salisbury University placed eight former standouts on the Capital Athletic Conference's Silver Anniversary Women's Cross Country Team. UMW's Erin Connolly, the only four-time first-team All-CAC women's cross country honoree in conference history, leads the list of Silver Anniversary Award winners.

Entering its 25th year of varsity competition, the CAC selected a Silver Anniversary Team in 19 championship sports, primarily based on season-ending conference awards as voted by the conference coaches. Each Silver Anniversary Team will feature 25 former or current standouts. Men's and women's indoor track & field, which became a CAC championship sport in 2012, was combined with men's and women's outdoor track & field. The Silver Anniversary Golf Team has just eight members because the sport was added to the CAC championships list just seven years ago.

The teams will be announced early in the regular-season for its respective sport. Each Silver Anniversary Team honoree will receive a commemorative gift from the conference, and many will be recognized by their institution/alma mater at some time during the academic year.

The University of Mary Washington, a charter member of the CAC, led the conference with 153 current and former student-athletes on the Silver Anniversary Teams, including 40 in men's and women's tennis combined. Salisbury University, which joined the CAC in the 1994-95 athletic season, was second with 121 Silver Anniversary Team honorees. CAC charter members York College of Pa. (59) and St. Mary's College of Md. (35) were next in line for most Silver Anniversary Team honorees.

The CAC was organized as a six-team affiliation in 1989 and began championship competition with the winter sports during the 1990-91 season. Membership changes in the last decade ultimately created a 10-team conference that has become one of the strongest in NCAA Division III.

CAC teams have won 18 national team championships, and dozens of other teams have finished in among the top four in NCAA Division III competition.

In 2013-14, the CAC advanced more than 25 teams to post-season competition. Four CAC athletic programs finished among the Top 60 in the final Learfield Cup – the only conference in the Middle Atlantic Region to accomplish that feat. One team won a national championship (Salisbury University women's lacrosse) and three others played in the national championship game. Nineteen CAC teams won at least one game in NCAA Tournament competition and 10 advanced to at least the NCAA Sweet 16.

In the last two years, CAC student-athletes have combined to win six individual national championships at NCAA swimming or track & field competitions. The CAC student-athletes collected a record 11 Capital One Academic All-America awards in 2013-14 as well as an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and the Josten's Award, recognizing a Division III women's basketball player for her achievements on the court, in the classroom and contributions to the community.

In the classroom, the CAC boasts 81 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including one Academic All-American of the Year award winner, 12 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners, five NCAA Elite 89 award winners, two Honda year-end award winners and a Josten's Award winner in women's basketball. The CAC also features an annual Academic Honor Roll that recently honored nearly 1,200 students for their academic achievements. Thousands of other student-athletes have received Player of the Year, All-America or All-Region recognition in their respective sports.

Connolly was a first-team all-star from 2001 to 2004 and was the fourth of six distance standouts to be named the Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year twice during her career (2001 and '02).

The five other Silver Anniversary honorees who were two-time CAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Year award winners during their career included Mary Washington's Caitlin McGurk (1994, '95) and Cristy Falcone (2004 and '07) along with Salisbury's Kerri Bowers (1997 and '98), Suzy McCulloch (1999 and '00) and Kelly Sullivan (2005 and '06).

Two members of the Women's Cross Country Silver Anniversary Team will be competing in the 2014 CAC Championship. UMW senior Tara Landy was the 2012 CAC Athlete of the Year while York College of Pa. senior Caroline DeLany won the top honor in 2013. Both are two-time first-team all-stars entering the 2014 campaign. York also boasts sisters on the Silver Anniversary team - Melody and Mandy Parshall.

CAC Women's Cross Country Silver Anniversary Team Honorees

Etta Agan, 1994, University of Mary Washington

Kerri Bowers, 1998, Salisbury University

Lauren Bragg, 2005, Salisbury University

Allison Coleman, 1995, University of Mary Washington

Erin Connolly, 2004, University of Mary Washington

Sarah Dawes, 2009, University of Mary Washington

Caroline DeLany, Active (Senior in 2014), York College of Pa.

Kelly Delp, 1996, Salisbury University

Jessica Edberg, 2001, University of Mary Washington

Cristy Falcone, 2007, University of Mary Washington

Lori Frei, 1996, Salisbury University

Angela Gloukhoff, 1993, Catholic University of America

Liz Green, 2012, University of Mary Washington

Teresa Joerger, 2000, University of Mary Washington

Tara Landy, Active (Senior in 2014), University of Mary Washington

Suzy McCulloch, 2000, Salisbury University

Caitlin McGurk, 1995, University of Mary Washington

Mandy Parshall, 2011, York College of Pa.

Melody Parshall, 2009, York College of Pa.

Julie Rakowski, 1999, University of Mary Washington

Becca Stinner, 2011, Salisbury University

Kristin Stromberg, 2010, Salisbury University

Hayley Sullivan, 2008, University of Mary Washington

Kelly Sullivan, 2007, Salisbury University

Rachel Yates, 2003, Catholic University of America