PHILADELPHIA - Kelley Riffenburgh of the Haverford College women's cross country team earned a spot on the Philadelphia Inquirer 2013 Academic All-Area Women's Cross Country Team as announced by the Philadelphia Area Sports Information Directors Association (Philly-SIDA) this week.

Seven other runners joined Riffenburgh on this year's squad that was voted on by the sports information offices of the 28 area institutions from the Philadelphia metropolitan area. In order to be eligible for academic all-area, an athlete must be in at least her second year at the institution and own a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher.

Riffenburgh was a consistent performer for the Fords throughout the 2013 season as she scored points in each of the five meets where team scoring was kept.

The junior, a member of the Centennial Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll for the last two years, led Haverford across the line at the Princeton Invitational in mid-October to propel the Fords to finish as the top Division III squad at the race. And as the calendar turned to November, the second-team all-conference performer continued to shine.

Riffenburgh's 13th-place finish at the Centennial championship helped Haverford finish second to eventual national champion Johns Hopkins University. The native of South Pasadena, Calif., was the Fords' second scorer the following weekend at regionals as she finished 21st to merit all-region honors.

Haverford earned a ticket to the national meet for the fifth consecutive year due to the efforts of Riffenburgh and her teammates at regionals and they made the most of the opportunity. Riffenburgh was the Fords' third scorer in Terre Haute, Indiana as Haverford claimed 17th-place at the D-III national meet -- the seventh top-20 finish in program history.