LANCASTER, Pa. - Senior Emily Scott of the Haverford College women's cross country team merited first-team All-Centennial Conference honors for the second time in her career when the league office officially announced its all-conference squads on Wednesday morning. The Fords were well represented among the list of honorees as sophomore Nora Weathers, and juniors Charlotte Lellman and Kelley Riffenburgh, earned spots on the all-conference second team while head coach Fran Rizzo was voted coach of the year by his peers.
Scott helped Haverford to its third straight second-place finish at the conference championship as she led the Fords across the line in 22 minutes, 57.5 seconds to place fourth. Finishing in the runner-up spot was no small feat as Haverford was one of three nationally-ranked teams, including defending national champion Johns Hopkins University, competing on the course at Carroll County Farm Complex on Nov. 2. Scott, who finished seventh at the 2011 championship, was the only runner not wearing a uniform of the top-ranked Blue Jays to crack the top six.
Weathers and Lellman, placing eighth and ninth, respectively, gave the Fords three finishers in the top 10 of the 106-runner field which proved to make a difference in the tight team scoring. Weathers crossed the line in 23:18.6 and Lellman, who was also recognized as a a member of the all-sportsmanship team, followed in 23:25.9. Riffenburgh's 13th-place finish (23:42.6) allowed Haverford to claim four of the 14 total all-conference nods.
Named conference coach of the year for the second straight campaign, Rizzo, in his 24th year, directed the Fords to their 14th consecutive top-three finish in the conference standings. A model of consistency, Haverford has finished second 13 times in the 21-year history of the Centennial cross country championships.
Holly Clarke and Tess Meehan from Johns Hopkins were named runner of the year and rookie of the year, respectively.
Currently ranked 14th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III poll, the Fords' season continues at the NCAA Mideast Regional, hosted by Lehigh University on Nov. 16.