Centennial Conference Preseason Poll
HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's cross country team has been chosen as the No. 1 team in the Centennial Conference by the coaches in their annual preseason poll. Haverford received five first-place votes (61 points) and finished one point ahead of Johns Hopkins (four first-place votes). Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Dickinson was selected as the No. 3 team, followed by Swarthmore, Gettysburg, Franklin and Marshall, Muhlenberg, Ursinus and McDaniel.
The Fords hosted the 2014 Centennial Conference Championships and won the team title for the 19th in 22 seasons. Charlie Marquardt claimed the 17th individual title for the Fords in the conference's history. David Roza '15 was second followed by Joel Christian '15 in third place. Soren Rasmussen '15 (sixth) and Jimmy Gorman (ninth) placed inside the top ten.
Marquardt set a new course record (24:57.4) at the NCAA Mideast Regional, becoming the first Fords' runner to win back-to-back meets since Anders Hulleberg '11 in 2010. Roza led the Fords at the NCAA Championships with a 50th place finish and personal best time (24:55.3).
Head coach Tom Donnelly's team will start the 2015 season with the Alumni Open (Sept. 5) and Main Line Invitational (Sept. 18) at the Alumni Cross Country Course. The Fords also host the Haverford Invitational (Oct. 23) before traveling to the Centennial Conference Championships (Oct. 31). The NCAA Mideast Regional (Nov. 14) takes place in Newville, Pa. and the NCAA Championships (Nov. 21) are in Oshkosh, Wisc.