HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's cross country team moved into a tie for 29th in the country during the fourth regular season poll released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The Fords are up one spot from last week after a strong showing at Dickinson where they won the 6,000 meter course as a team in a field that featured regional foes Dickinson and Elizabethtown.
Scoring just three runners in the long race, Haverford was led by seniors Amelia Keyser-Gibson, Nicole Giannetti, and Katie Sullivan. Each of those runners finished in the top 10 of a field which had 190 entrants. Haverford's score of 22 edged out Dickinson by a single point and topped Elizabethtown by a score of 22-43. The Fords also had a notable win over Division I Bucknell that same weekend. Haverford was ineligible for the overall team score as the Fords did not enter any runners in the short (4,000 meter) race.
The Mideast Region continues to have four teams ranked nationally with the preseason order yet to change despite the head-to-head competition this past weekend. Johns Hopkins continues its reign at No. 1 nationally with six first-place votes. Another Centennial Conference competitor, Dickinson, is second in the poll and held its No. 8 position. Elizabethtown remains the only Mideast team outside of the Centennial Conference to be ranked. The Blue Jays rose two spots to No. 20 this week.
Women's cross country has the upcoming weekend away from competition but will return to action on Saturday, October 14 for the Rowan Invitational. That meet will get underway for the women at 11 a.m. and feature numerous nationally-ranked teams for the Fords to compete against. The Rowan Inter-Regional Battle will also be the team's final race before the Centennial Conference Championship at Gettysburg to close the month of October.