GETTYSBURG, Pa. – The Haverford College women's cross country team put three runners among the top 10 finishers of the Centennial Conference Championship for the first time since 2013 and just the eighth time in program history on Sunday. That senior trio which has led the Fords all season helped Haverford place third at the conference meet with a total of 74 points.
National No. 1 Johns Hopkins won the event with a total of 25 team points while No. 16 Dickinson scored just eight places ahead of the No. 24 Fords, finishing with a total of 66 points. Haverford did earn the final Hood Trophy point of the fall season as Swarthmore placed fourth with 104 points. The Fords lead Swarthmore 4.5-1.5 after the first weekend of head-to-head competition between the rival institutions.
Katie Sullivan placed seventh for the Fords to earn the third straight first-team All-Centennial Conference honor of her cross country career. Sullivan is one of just 24 runners in conference history to accomplish that feat as Dickinson's Sophia Canning also reached that milestone on Sunday. Sullivan crossed the line in a time 22:17.3 on a rainy day in Gettysburg.
Amelia Keyser-Gibson earned her first all-conference recognition in cross country with an eighth place finish in 22:19.1. Her mark gives her second-team All-Centennial Conference recognition. Fellow captain Nicole Giannetti also recorded her career best finish at the Centennial Conference Championship as she placed 10th with a time of 22:23.6. That finish earns her second-team All-Centennial Conference laurels for the second straight season.
First years Hannah Doll and Hannah Yeakey finished in scoring positions for the Fords in their postseason debuts. Haverford's fourth finisher, Doll, crossed the line in a time of 23:47.4 to place 26th overall. Yeakey reached the finish in 24:02.7 to place 31st. Haverford's sixth and seventh runners were not far behind as Sophie Drew (24:11.1) and Mckenna Krall (24:17.0) placed 33rd and 36th, respectively. Drew improved her finish last year by 20 positions while Krall was an 18 spot improvement at the conference meet from 2016.
Seniors Sarah Wade (24:26.0) and MaryKate Cavanaugh (24:58.8) both broke the 25 minute mark with 40th and 48th place showings. First year Molly Hawkins (25:03.5) and sophomore Jolie Jaycobs (25:21.8) each made their championship debut, placing 50th and 53rd. Junior Julia Smith was the final Haverford finisher across the line with her time of 25:45.0.
Women's cross country will have another chance to test its mettle against Johns Hopkins and Dickinson as these schools represent some of the fastest in the Mideast Region. Haverford will be looking for a top two finish when all these schools meet again for the NCAA Mideast Regional on Saturday, November 11 in Newville, Pa. The top two teams at the regional will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championship in Illinois. The women's Mideast Regional will be a 12 p.m. noon start.