HAVERFORD, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Haverford College men's cross country team captured its fifth straight Centennial Conference championship on its home course on Saturday afternoon, battling rainy and windy conditions to edge No. 6 Johns Hopkins at the Alumni Cross Country Course. The title is the 23rd for the Fords in the 26 year history of the Centennial Conference, extending a run of conference meet dominance that has lasted more than two decades under head coach Tom Donnelly.
Haverford scored 34 points, narrowly besting the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins, who scored 35. Dickinson finished third with 79 points, while Swarthmore (137 points) and Muhlenberg (151 points) rounded out the top five team finishers.
Senior Greg Morgan paced the Fords, finishing second overall with a time of 25:18.8 while senior Ryan Herlihy was right behind in 25:29.2 for a third-place finish. Graham Peet crossed in sixth in 25:36.8, while Dylan Gearinger was eighth in 25:41.7.
Junior David Watt was Haverford's fifth scorer, narrowly missing all-conference designation with a 15th place finish in 26:18.4. Junior Sam McCalpin finished 18th in 26:24.8, while first year Jamie Moreland was named the Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year after crossing in 22nd with a time of 26:41.2 to round out the top seven finishers for Haverford.
First year Peter Buckley crossed in 26th with a time of 26:48.9 while junior Conor Madden followed in 26:49.6 for 27th. Senior Chris Goings crossed in 32nd with a time of 27:08.5, while junior Hiro Kawakatsu was 39th in 27:37.7. Sophomore Matt Katz rounded out the Haverford finishers with a 42nd place finish in 27:51.5.
With finishes within the top 14, Morgan, Herlihy, Peet, and Gearinger were each named All-Centennial Conference. Peet was named all-conference for the fourth consecutive season while Herlihy, Morgan, and Gearinger were all named to the all-conference squad for the third consecutive year. By virtue of besting Swarthmore, the Fords will also earn another point in the battle for the Hood Trophy.
In the open race, Haverford finished second overall behind Johns Hopkins, with first year Max Brelig finishing seventh overall with a time of 27:43.9 to lead the charge. Junior James Barker (28:19.4) was the 10th place finisher while sophomore Jack Hunter (12th, 28:19.4), first year Amos Karlsen (13th, 28:40), and sophomore Gene Perry (15th, 28:48.4) rounded out the top five finishers for the Fords.
The Fords will next return to action on November 10 at the Mideast Regional, hosted by DeSales University in Center Valley, Pa. The top two teams in the regional race will qualify automatically for the following week's NCAA Championships, which will be held on November 17 at the Lake Breeze Golf Club in Winneconne, Wisc.