COCKEYSVILLE, Md. - The Haverford College men's cross country team returned to the top of the podium at the Centennial Conference Championships on Saturday, continuing a sustained run of dominance in the conference meet with a 24th title and sixth in the last seven seasons. The Fords put four runners in the top 10 total finishers, edging race host Johns Hopkins by a 37 to 45 margin.
A Friday night rainstorm gave way to clear and cool conditions, ideal weather for racing as the Fords certainly took advantage of the seasonal weather. Junior Ryan Kredell finished second overall, crossing in 25:32.4, ahead of the top finisher from the Blue Jays, Matthew Kleiman. Max Brelig was the fifth to cross overall, notching a time of 25:55.8 while Peter Buckley (26:08.8) and Jamie Moreland (26:09.9) crossed in tandem in eighth and ninth. Haverford's final scorer was just outside the top 10 in 13th as Nico Tripeny took a finish of 26:28.5.
By virtue of finishing within the top 14, all five of the Haverford scorers will be named to the All-Centennial Conference squads. Kredell earns the honor for the second consecutive campaign, as he was Haverford's top finisher in 2019.
Narrowly missing all-conference distinction was the sixth Haverford runner to cross, Charlie Ferguson, as he finished 16th overall with a time of 26:32.9. Miles Colescott posted an impressive postseason debut, notching a 19th place finish in 26:42.0. Aaron Bratt finished just behind Colescott in 20th, crossing in 26:48.7, while Amos Karlsen (26:48.7) and Ryan Quenemoen (27:07.8) finished in 22nd and 23rd respectively.
Peter LaRochelle was the 33rd to cross in his postseason debut (27:33.7) while Jeffrey Allen rounded out the top 35 (27:47.1).
Christopher Scharf of Dickinson took home the individual title, edging Kredell with a time of 25:22.0.
Haverford dominated the open race that followed the women's championship, nearly tallying a perfect score as Matt Denton took the individual title in that race with a time of 28:01. Seamus Fraser followed in 28:15 for second, while Jacob Gaba (28:17.5) and Luca Ponticello (28:18.5) crossed in third and fourth, respectively. Evan Daniels was then the sixth place finisher with a time of 28:29.3.
Reza Eshghi (28:59.3), Seamus Flannery (29:04.7), Sammy Schindel (29:08.8), Reed Solomon (29:11.3) and Scott Kaiser (29:50.7) all finished within the top 15 for the Fords.
Haverford also picked up a Hood Trophy point by virtue of men's cross country finishing above Swarthmore. The Garnet finished fourth overall, scoring 102 points.
The Fords will next return to action on November 13 at the NCAA Metro Region Championship. The men's race in Logan Township, N.J. is slated for 11 a.m. start. Haverford will be looking to punch a 28th consecutive ticket to nationals with a top two finish.