Men's Cross Country Tabbed No. 18 in Latest USTFCCCA Poll

Oscar Melendez
Oscar Melendez

Full USTFCCCA Poll
Mideast Region Rankings

HAVERFORD, Pa. - Haverford men's cross country checks in at No. 18 in the week one release of the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches (USTFCCCA) Division III National Coaches Poll, the organization announced in a release on Wednesday afternoon. The top five in the regional rankings remain unchanged from the preseason, as the Fords are flagged at No. 3 in the Mideast Region. 

North Central (Ill.) continues as the top-ranked team in the national poll, while Williams and Washington-St. Louis are tied for second. Wartburg, Wisconsin-La Crosse, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Carnegie Mellon, Calvin, Johns Hopkins, and Pomona-Pitzer round out the top 10.  Johns Hopkins is the highest ranked Centennial Conference squad at No. 9, while Dickinson also joins the Fords and Blue Jays in earning a national rank, taking the No. 30 spot, up three positions from its preseason prognostication of 33rd. 

Carnegie Mellon of the UAA remains at the top of the Mideast Region rankings, ahead of Johns Hopkins and Haverford. National No. 26 Elizabethtown of the Landmark Conference and Dickinson round out the top five. 

Haverford has competed in just one meet so far this season, the Alumni Open on September 7. The top varsity finisher in that race was first year Ryan Kredell, who finished in 15:06. Senior co-captain Sam McCalpin was third overall in 15:09, while sophomore Peter Buckley (15:17) rounded out the top five finishers in the annual tune-up. 

Head Coach Tom Donnelly's team will host the Main Line Invitational on Friday (Sept. 20) at the Alumni Cross Country Course through the Haverford campus. The Paul Short Run at Lehigh (Oct. 5) looms on the horizon, as one of the nation's largest cross country meets is sure to be an early season challenge for the Fords.