ELSAH, Ill. – The Haverford College women's cross country team placed 27th at the NCAA Division III Championship hosted by Principia College on Saturday. The Fords were led by Katie Sullivan's 87th place finish. Haverford was once again third among its regional peers, placing one spot behind Elizabethtown and one spot ahead of Dickinson. The Fords finished with 575 placement points.
Sullivan was one of three Fords making their third straight appearance at the national cross country meet. Finishing as the team's top runner for the second straight year, Sullivan crossed the line in a time 22:09.20.
Classmates Amelia Keyser-Gibson and Nicole Giannetti were also making their third straight appearance on the national stage. Keyser-Gibson was just over four seconds off the pace of her teammate with a time of 22:13.90 and placed 102nd in the field. Giannetti was the third runner across the line for Haverford. She finished 149th with a time of 22:36.00.
Both of Haverford's final two scorers, and three of the team's final four finishers overall, set new personal bests at the 6,000 meter distance despite rainy and cold conditions on the course. Each of those Haverford runners were making their NCAA Championship debuts. First year Hannah Doll set a personal-best time of 23:09.10 in her national championship debut. She crossed the line in 222nd place. Sophie Drew was Haverford's fifth finisher with her personal best time of 23:21.30. She placed 241st overall.
Just 10 spots behind Drew was first year Hannah Yeakey. Crossing the line with a mark of 23:34.40, Yeakey was the 251st overall finisher in the field. Sophomore Mckenna Krall was the Fords' seventh finisher. She placed 262nd overall with a personal best time of 23:50.40.
Women's cross country was making its 17th team appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships all-time. The Fords have now made the national meet in eight of the past nine seasons. With the close of cross country season, the Fords will now turn their attention to the indoor track & field season which gets underway on Saturday, December 9 with the Haverford Holiday Invitational inside the Alumni Field House.