The 1997 cross country season was again an impressive one for the Mary Washington College striders, as the Eagle women won their sixth Capital Athletic Conference title in seven years and sent a runner to the NCAA Championships, while the MWC men took second at CACs with four all-conference runners.

 

MWC's men were led by Van Horn, who topped the Eagles in every race he ran a year ago. Van Horn led MWC runners at the conference championship with his second place finish, as the Eagles placed Jim Dlugasch in fifth, Brien Roberts in eighth, and John Rock in 15th place. Van Horn finished seventh in the NCAA South/