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LANCASTER, PA – For the Franklin & Marshall College women’s cross country team the 2004 Centennial Conference Championship set for October 30 at McDaniel College boils down to one word: respect. For F&M, which has finished ninth at the last three championship races and 10th at the 2000 race after placing ninth in 1999, the 2004 Championships mark a rebirth of the program as a core of young runners has guided the team back to the upper echelon in the Conference. Leading the charge have been harriers Meredith Janeczek (So., Hershey, PA/Hershey) and Karen Ziga (So., Haverford, PA/Haverford) who rank among the Top 20 in the October 20 Centennial Conference Women's Cross Country Coaches Rankings. A member of the October 12 Centennial Conference Women's Cross Country Honor Roll, Janeczek is ranked seventh in the Conference behind Dickinson's Emily Hulme, Swarthmore's Sarah Hobbes, Bryn Mawr's Joanna Simonis, Muhlenberg’s Jenna Belisonzi, Bryn Mawr’s Melissa Leedle and Dickinson's Abigail Ferguson. At the Goucher College Invitational on October 9, she finished first in 19:54.45, one spot ahead of Ziga who crossed the line second in 20:04.17, as the Franklin & Marshall College women's cross country team totaled 30 points to win invitational. The meet was historical for the Diplomats as it marked the first invitational win by a Franklin & Marshall College women's cross country team since 1993 when F&M won the Salisbury University Tidewater Invitational on October 16 and the Little Three Championships (F&M 27, Gettysburg 30/ F&M 25, Dickinson 30) on November 3. Individually, Janeczek's victory marked her second of the season as crossed the finish line in 24:05 over the six-kilometer course at the McDaniel Invitational to finish first. Her pair of victories mark the first time an F&M women's cross country runner has finished first in two invitationals in the same season since Jamie Kendig '96 accomplished the feat at the Davis & Elkins (21:17) and Dickinson (18:45) Invitationals during the 1994 season. Historically, Kendig also finished first at the Centennial Conference Championships (18:57) and Little Three Championships (19:08) before placing sixth at the NCAA Regionals (19:20) and 64th at the NCAA Championships (19:14.0). Historically, if Janeczek can win the race she will become only the second Diplomat to capture the CC women’s cross country title following Kendig in 1994 (1857) at Gettysburg. Ziga, who is ranked 14th in the latest CC poll, and Yanira Figureroa (Sr., Mount Vernon, NY/Tuckahoe) should also factor in the championship race for the blue and white as F&M will look to put a runner in the top seven finishers for the first time since Erin Carlson placed seventh (19:22.10) over a 5K at Gettysburg at the 1999 Championship race. However, for the Diplomats to shock the Conference and earn the CC title they will need to defeat Dickinson and Haverford. The Red Devils will look to capture their fifth straight title with Haverford close on their heels. Dickinson will look to fill the void left by the graduation of two-time CC champion Callie Bradley, with five returning All-Conference runners. Dickinson will be led by Hulme, Fergusson, Gabby Russo, Annie Scogin and Allison Baumler who finished fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in last year’s championship meet. Haverford is led by 2003 All-CC runner Prentiss Clark, who finished ninth at year ago. Swarthmore will also contend for the team title under the leadership of Hobbes and Elizabeth Gardner, who finished 10th at last season’s championship meet. Rounding out the returning All-Conference runners are Gettysburg’s Elane Gottschall and Muhlenberg’s Belisonzi who finished 13th and 14th, respectively. The 2004 Championship marks the third time McDaniel has hosted the Conference title race as F&M finished fifth in 1998 and 10th at the 2000 race. Race time is set for noon.
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