USTFCCCA Division III National Coaches Poll
USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
HAVERFORD, Pa. – Fresh off of a team title at the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle, the Haverford men's cross country team checks in tied for third in the United State Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Coaches' Poll, the organization announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The ranking is the highest for the Fords since a No. 3 national ranking in the third week of 2013. This is the latest into the season Haverford has been ranked in the top five since the squad was No. 1 in the national poll for three straight weeks in the lead up to a second place finish at nationals in 2012. The Fords picked up 263 points, to pull into the third place tie with SUNY Geneseo. North Central (Ill.) is the first-place team in the poll with all eight first place votes. Wisconsin-La Crosse has jumped into second place while SUNY Geneseo falls from second into a tie with the Fords for the third spot. Pomona-Pitzer remains as the fifth ranked team in the poll.
Loras College, Amherst, RPI, Washington (Mo.) and MIT round out the top 10. Johns Hopkins moves up three spots to the No. 14 position in the poll, as the only other nationally ranked squad in the Centennial Conference. Regional rivals Carnegie Mellon are ranked No. 12 while York (Pa.) is a new Mideast regional entrant to the national poll at No. 22.
Haverford was last in action at the Inter-Regional Border Battle on the campus of Rowan University on Saturday. Henry Woods crossed the finish line in a time of 24:52.8, placing second overall as the Fords put three runners in front of No. 16 Carnegie Mellon's first finisher to easily capture the team title by a 29-62 margin. The Fords have been the top Division III finisher at each race they have competed in this season. Woods was named the Centennial Conference men's cross country Athlete of the Week following the race.
The Fords are now ramping up preparations for the Centennial Conference Championship on Sunday, October 29 on the campus of Gettysburg College. Haverford will look for its fourth straight conference title. The men's championship race is slated to begin at 11 a.m. with the combined open race slated to begin at 12:45 p.m.