Diplomats Ranked 11th in November 1 NCAA Division III Mid-East Region Women's Cross Country Poll

by Sports Information
11/3/05

LANCASTER, PA -- Franklin & Marshall College received 13 votes to rank 11th in the November 1 NCAA Mid-East Region Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll.

Ranked 10th in the October 11 poll and 11th in the October 25 poll, the Diplomats placed fourth of 10 teams at the 2005 Centennial Conference (CC) championships hosted by Johns Hopkins University at Oregon Ridge Park in Cockeysville, Maryland.

Karen Ziga (Jr., Haverford, PA/Haverford) and Meredith Janeczek (Jr., Hershey, PA/Hershey) crossed the finish line in 23:19 and 23:23 to place 10th and 12th, respectively, and earn All-Centennial Conference second team honors to lead the Diplomats in the race.

Historically, Ziga and Janeczek became the first pair of F&M runners named to the All-Conference team at the same championship since Erin Carlson ’01 and Stephanie Stroud ’00 were named to the first and second team, respectively, at the 1999 championship hosted by Gettysburg College.

In addition, Janeczek, who finished fourth at the 2004 championship at McDaniel College to earn first team honors, became the first F&M runner to earn two All-Conference honors since Carlson ’01 earned first team honors at the 1998 and 1999 championships.

Katie Byrne (Fr., Gettysburg, PA/Gettysburg) finished 29th (24:14), Colette Buchanan (So., Hershey, PA/Hershey) placed 40th (24:38) and Megan Feehan (Sr., West Chester, PA/Henderson) crossed the line in 24:44 to place 44th to round out F&M’s top five runners as the squad’s fourth place finish marked the second best finish by an F&M team since the inaugural CC championship race in 1993.

Overall, Franklin & Marshall is one of six Centennial Conference schools ranked in the Top 15 in the region as Dickinson (#1), Haverford (#3), Swarthmore (#5), Muhlenberg (#12) and Johns Hopkins (#13) round out the Conference's selections.

Franklin & Marshall will return to action on November 12 at the NCAA Mid-East Regional meet, hosted by Dickinson at Carlisle High School. The women’s race is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., with the men’s race to follow at noon.

NCAA Mid-East Region Women's Cross Country Poll (November 1, 2005)
1. Dickinson (13) 130
2. Grove City 109
3. Haverford 104
4. Messiah 87
5. Swarthmore 84
6. Elizabethtown 67
7. Salisbury 45
8. Allegheny 35
9. Carnegie Mellon 17
10. Juniata 15
Also receiving votes: Franklin & Marshall 13, Muhlenberg 11, Johns Hopkins 2, DeSales 2, Susquehanna 1, Marywood 1