WESTMINSTER, Md. - The Haverford College women's cross country team will participate in the 21st annual Centennial Conference championship, hosted by McDaniel College, on Saturday at the Carroll County Farm Complex.
The Fords have finished in the top three at the conference championship meet in each of the last 13 seasons and head coach Fran Rizzo, in his 24th season, believes his talented roster is more than capable of extending that streak. "We have eight runners that have the ability to finish in one of our scoring spots," said Rizzo.
Senior Emily Scott, junior Kelley Riffenburgh and sophomore Nora Weathers have each led Haverford across the finish line at some point over the course of the season. Scott, a 2011 first-team all-conference honoree, was one of just four Division III runners to finish in the top 20 at Lehigh University on Oct. 5. The senior's 18th-place finish helped the Fords come in third in the Brown Race of Lehigh's Paul Short Run.
Two weeks later it was Riffenburgh's turn to lead the Haverford effort at the Princeton Invitational as the junior placed 62nd in 22 minutes, 54 seconds. Riffenburgh's teammates were not far behind, however, as the Fords' five scorers were separated by just 18 seconds.
Weathers, who joined Scott in earning all-region honors in 2012, was the top D-III finisher at the Main Line Invitational on Sept. 26. The sophomore showed her consistency throughout the season as she also scored for Haverford at the meets at Lehigh and Princeton.
Seniors Flora Berklein and Chelsea Thorsheim, junior Charlotte Lellman, sophomore Maggie Heffernan and freshman Clarice Bourland are other runners that could deliver points on Saturday.
The 18-second spread between scorers at the Princeton Invitational exhibited the Fords' depth -- an attribute that Rizzo feels will keep Haverford in the mix of what should be a highly competitive race on Saturday. Johns Hopkins University, the top-ranked team in D-III, appears to be the favorite but Haverford and Dickinson College also rank in the top 20 nationally. The Fords, tied for 15th, and No. 19 Dickinson will look to challenge the national champion Blue Jays. The Centennial lays claim to five of the top 10 teams in the Mideast Region overall as Johns Hopkins, Haverford and Dickinson occupy the top three spots in the latest regional poll and Swarthmore College and Gettysburg College are ranked eighth and 10th, respectively.
The Fords, picked to finish second this season in a preseason poll of the conference coaches, placed second in the Centennial and Mideast Region in 2012 on their way to a 13th-place finish at nationals.
The women's six-kilometer championship race will begin at 11 a.m. A combined junior varsity race of men and women will follow at 12:45 p.m.