Franklin & Marshall Ranks 11th in October 25 NCAA Mid-East Region Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll

by Sports Information
10/27/05

LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College received nine votes to rank 11th in the October 25 NCAA Mid-East Region Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll.

Ranked 10th in the October 11 poll, the Diplomats finished first at the Philadelphia Small College Meet, second at the Little Three Championship meet, fourth at the Johns Hopkins Invitational, fifth at the Towson Invitational and seventh at the Salisbury Invitational this year.

In the team’s most recent race, Meredith Janeczek (Jr., Hershey, PA/Hershey) crossed the finish line in 23:12 to place fifth and lead the Franklin & Marshall College women’s cross country team to a fourth place finish at the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jay Invitational at Oregon Ridge Park on October 7.

Overall, Janeczek was the third Centennial Conference runner across the finish line and was one of three F&M runners in the top 20 as Katie Byrne (Fr., Gettysburg, PA/Gettysburg) and Karen Ziga (Jr., Haverford, PA/Haverford) finished 12th (23:32) and 18th (23:54), respectively, as the Diplomats joined Haverford (three), Salisbury (four) and Towson (six) as one of four teams to place three or more runners in the top 20.

In the team scoring, F&M totaled 97 points to defeat Johns Hopkins (164), Swarthmore (168), Muhlenberg (170), Moravian (212), Ursinus (247), Loyola (297), Morgan State (304), McDaniel (327), Hagerstown Community College (369), Columbia Union (465) and Coppin State (469).

Overall, Franklin & Marshall is one of six Centennial Conference schools ranked in the Top 15 in the region as Dickinson (#1), Swarthmore (#3), Haverford (#4), Johns Hopkins (#12), Muhlenberg (#13) round out the Conference's selections.

Franklin & Marshall will return to action on October 29 at the Centennial Conference Championship Meet hosted by Johns Hopkins University at Oregon Ridge Park.

NCAA Mid-East Region Women's Cross Country Poll (October 25, 2005)
1. Dickinson (10) 110
2. Grove City 99
3. Swarthmore 76
4. Haverford 69
5. Elizabethtown 62
6. Messiah 54
7. Salisbury 49
8. Allegheny 44
9. Carnegie Mellon 19
10. Juniata 10
Also receiving votes: Franklin & Marshall 9, Johns Hopkins 4, Muhlenberg 3, Susquehanna 1.5, DeSales 1, Marywood 1