HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's cross country team will be looking for a return to the NCAA Championships during the 2015 season. The Fords have made the NCAA Division III National Championship race 14 times in program history, including 10 of the last 13 seasons. The 2014 season appeared headed for another trip to nationals as Haverford ranked as high as No. 11 in the national polls before a series of injuries haunted the team late in the year.
Haverford returns four of its top seven runners from both the Centennial Conference Championship and NCAA Mideast Regional a season ago. That quad of runners will lead Haverford during this coming fall. Coming off her All-American performance during the outdoor track & field season, two-time second-team All-Centennial Conference Cross Country runner Nora Weathers headlines the team as one of three captains on this year's squad. Weathers has been to a pair of NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing 72nd in 2013 and 107th as a freshman.
Fellow senior captains Maggie Heffernan and Molly Allen will also give experience to the Fords during the upcoming season. Heffernan provides NCAA experience as the senior placed 161st at the 2013 NCAA Championship and was an all-region pick following a 33rd place finish at the Mideast Regional last fall. Allen is looking to break into the top seven this fall and will look to improve on a personal best mark of 24:13.7 at the 6,000 meter championship distance.
Sophomores Nicole Giannetti and Amelia Keyser-Gibson established themselves as top seven scoring runners for the Fords as freshman and will build on that experience this fall. Giannetti comes into the year with a personal best time of 23:20 at the 6,000 meter distance, while Keyser-Gibson owns a personal best of 24:00 at that distance. Fellow sophomores Katie Sullivan (23:25 pr in 6,000 meters), MaryKate Cavanaugh (23:38), Alison Love (24:14), and Sarah Wade (24:22) will also look to move up in the pack this fall.
Sophomore Liana Alves and junior Amanda Glavin also return to the team after running abbreviated schedules last season. New to the cross country team but not new to the women's program are track & field athletes Michaela Novakovic and Marie Vastola. Both have elected to add cross country to their running experiences this fall. The Fords will also welcome a class of five freshmen to campus.
Women's cross country will get a first look at its freshmen this Friday as part of the Haverford Open on the Alumni Cross Country Course with the start set for 5:30 p.m. The team will also be at home for the Alumnae Open (Sept. 5), Main Line Invitational (Sept. 18), and Haverford Invitational (Oct. 23) this fall.