Men’s Cross Country Checks in at No. 27 in Latest USTFCCCA National Poll

Posted: Nov 03, 2023

HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's cross country team has climbed up three spots in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches (USTFCCCA) Division III National Coaches Poll, the organization announced in a release earlier this week. The Fords now claim the No. 27 ranking, and still sit atop the Metro Regional Rankings.

The only other school ranked from the Centennial Conference is the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins, who see no change in the poll, as they still remain No. 16 after outlasting the Fords for the Centennial Conference Championship last Saturday.

The top five schools in the poll saw a shakeup, as UW- La Crosse and North Central (Ill.) have flipped spots at the top of the rankings. The Eagles now claim the number one ranking, while the Cardinals slide down to number two. Rounding out the top five schools are MIT (No. 3), UW-Whitewater (No. 4), and Carnegie Mellon (No. 5)

The biggest move in the rankings was Amherst, as the Mammoths scooted up 10 spots to No. 17, while Mount Union had the biggest drop, falling 14 spots to No. 29.

Taking a look at the Metro regional rankings, the top 10 remain unchanged from last week, with the Fords holding the number one spot. Trailing the Fords are the 2023 NJAC Champions Rowan, and the second place team in the NJAC, TCNJ who complete the top three in the Metro.

The announcement comes off the heels of six total Centennial Conference honors awarded to the Fords. Peter LaRochelle, Nathaniel Leighninger, and Seamus Fraser earned First-Team All-Centennial Conference honors, while Luca Ponticello landed as a Second-Team All Centennial Conference member.

Head Coach Tom Donelly and his coaching staff earned the 2023 Centennial Conference Coaching Staff of the year award, while Senior captain Sammy Schindel was named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team.

The No. 27 Men's Cross Country team will return to action on Saturday, November 11 at DREAM Park in Logan Township, N.J. for the NCAA Division III Metro Regional. The race will begin at 12 p.m.

The number one ranked team in the Metro, Haverford is the two-time defending champion of the Metro Region, and has tallied 26 NCAA regional titles overall. If the Fords lock up their third Metro Championship in a row, they will earn an astonishing 30th consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championship.