2007 Centennial Conference Cross Country Championship Preview

Can Anyone Catch Haverford and Dickinson?

LANCASTER, Pa. – The UCLA men's basketball team reeled off 88 consecutive victories during the 70s. The Connecticut women's team won 70 straight basketball games from 2001-03. Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 consecutive baseball games in 1941.

And then there are the Haverford men's and Dickinson women's cross country teams. Granted, their streaks may not be as memorable on the national stage … but in Centennial circles, a 14-year win streak for Haverford and a seven-year unbeaten skein for Dickinson is pretty impressive. Can the Fords and the Red Devils put one more notch on their belts at the 15th annual Centennial Conference Cross Country championships at Franklin & Marshall College's Baker Campus on Saturday?

The 6K women's race begins at 11 a.m. and should be a two-team race between Dickinson and Haverford, who has finished second to the Red and White in each of the last seven seasons. The Red Devils return 2006 Conference Runner of the Year Cait Bradley (Fairfield, CT / Fairfield), who is looking to become the sixth straight Dickinson runner to take individual honors, following in the footsteps of Callie Bradley (no relation) (2002-03) and Emily Hulme (2004-05). A top-seven finish will gain Bradley first-team All-Conference recognition for the third time, placing her among an elite group of nine other runners in Centennial history. Bradley's top competition for the gold medal comes from Johns Hopkins sophomore Laura Paulsen (Lutherville, MD / Bryn Mawr), who finished second to Bradley last season. Haverford's Annick Lamar (Hamilton, NJ / Hamilton North) and Jane Weber (Oak Park, IL / Oak Park River Forest) will also contend for the gold along with Dickinson's Layla Naficy (Westport, CT / Staples).

Other runners that could contend for All-Conference honors include Muhlenberg's Sara Gearin (Groton, MA / Groton-Dunstable Regional), Gettysburg's Kerrin Epstein (Moravia, NY / Moravia) and Rachel Guthridge (Schwenksville, PA / The Hill School), and Swarthmore's Emma Stanley (Fogelsville, PA / Parkland).

The 8K men's competition starts at noon and could be a record-setting day for Haverford. The Ford men occupy the top five spots in the latest coaches' rankings, led by the 1-2 combination of Ian Ramsey-North (Narberth, PA / Friends' Central) and Don Letts (Climax, MI / Portage Northern). Ramsey-North was the 2005 Centennial Runner of the Year after capturing the gold medal at Johns Hopkins. He sat out last season and Letts finished in a virtual tie for first, coming across the line with graduated Zach Vaslow at Dickinson. Haverford, ranked first in the Mideast Region and fourth nationally, holds the Conference scoring record (17, 2000) and could break the mark on Saturday, as Mark Burgmann (Philadelphia, PA / Roman Catholic), Ben Frisbee (Lake Oswego, OR / Lake Oswego) and Anders Hulleberg (Baltimore, MD / Park School) are 3-4-5 on the coaches' list. Johns Hopkins' James Bronson (Santa Ana, CA / Foothill) and Patrick Brandon (Massapequa, NY / Massapequa) could break up the Ford monopoly and help the Blue Jays contend for runner-up honors.

Also keep an eye on Muhlenberg's David Chorney (Bristol, NH / Newfound Regional), Dickinson's Tom Morgan (East Bridgewater, MA / East Bridgewater), and Swarthmore's Erik Saka (Quincy, IL / Quincy) for All-Conference honors.