NEW ORLEANS - The Haverford College women's cross country team will be a force in the Mideast Region once again according to the the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division III 2012 preseason regional cross country rankings, as announced by the organization on Tuesday morning. The Fords are ranked fifth in the Mideast Region.

Haverford was one of three Centennial Conference institutions to receive a top-five ranking as Johns Hopkins University was slotted first and Dickinson College took third. Elizabethtown College (second) and Grove City College (fourth) rounded out the top-five.

The Fords have finished in the top four at the Mideast Regional meet 11 times in the last 12 years. In 2011, Haverford raced to a second-place Centennial championship finish and a fourth-place regional performance on its way to finishing 28th at the national meet. Senior Andrea Tocci and junior Emily Scott, who both placed in the top-30 at the regional meet, lead a veteran cast of returnees in 2012.