GLASSBORO, N.J. – The Haverford College women's cross country team got a good test of the competition it will face in the Centennial Conference Championship and beyond Saturday afternoon at the Rowan Inter-Regional. The Fords, ranked No. 29 in the latest USTFCCCA Poll, placed fourth overall in the team standings.
No. 21 RPI won the meet with 85 points, while No. 25 Dickinson was the top Centennial Conference team with its runner-up position and 108 points. Rochester scored 110 points to place among the top three. Haverford's 130 points were good enough to beat No. 32 Cortland State, TCNJ, No. 20 Swarthmore and Elizabethtown.
Senior Nora Weathers led her team to the finish line in the fifth overall spot with a time of 21:29.63 over the 6,000-meter course. Weathers' time was a personal best at the distance by nearly 12 seconds from the 2013 Mideast Regional. Katie Sullivan just missed joining her teammate in the top 10 with a nearly one minute personal best of 21:45.62 to place 11th overall.
The Fords' third through fifth runners across the line were Maggie Heffernan, Nicole Giannetti, and Amelia Keyser-Gibson. Heffernan crossed the line in a time of 22:14.05 to place 28th. Giannetti turned in the best time of her career by 41 seconds to place 34th with her mark of 22:19.19. Keyser-Gibson placed 52nd in a time of 22:37.32.
Haverford's fifth through 10th finishers in the race included three more personal bests that nearly surpassed a minute improvement. MaryKate Cavanaugh placed 98th overall with a time 23:30.58 as the team's sixth finisher. Sarah Wade was the seventh finisher for Haverford. She completed the course in a time of 23:41.31, a 41 second improvement from her prior best. Sophia Drew (24:28.60), Molly Allen (24:53.25), and Allison Hacker (25:18.36) rounded out Haverford's finishers for the race. Drew saw a 54 second improvement from her previous personal best, while Hacker's new time was 36 faster than her previous.
Four individuals also competed for the team in the open race. Julia Smith (24:47.09) was the team's top finisher with a 45th place showing. Liana Alves (26:05.56) was the second finisher for Haverford, placing 79th overall. Marie Vastola was just behind her teammate with an 84th place performance in a time of 26:23.53. Michaela Novakovic completed the course in 28:09.50 for 106th place.
Women's cross country will take part in hosting the Haverford Invitational next Friday at 4:30 p.m. That meet will be the team's final competition before the Centennial Conference Championship at the end of the month.