Ah yes, to continue the tradition of predicting the Centennial Conference XC championship results. Below are my predictions from last year. While I have not been as accurate as I would like to be in recent years, I know that I offer more information about teams and athletes than their own athletic websites tend to contribute. I’m thinking this is the year I get it totally right!
* Disclaimer: Most of my (limited and brief) research focused on last year’s conference championship race as well as the regional race. I did not take into account the potential impact of incoming freshmen.
1) Johns Hopkins
This is Hopkins year to dethrone Haverford. They were 1 point away from victory in the championship race last year on Haverford’s course and they return an outstanding squad with a lot of depth. They may be talented enough to compete for a podium spot at nationals. Look for Jared Pangollozzi to lead the way followed closely by Andrew King and Connor Delehanty.
2) Haverford
You would be a fool to bet against Tom Donnelly, their legendary longtime head coach. The squad’s top 4 at last year’s conference race were all seniors, but they seem to have a system in place where runners consistently improve. They may not perform at the same level as recent years, but expect them to still be a strong squad that competes to make nationals.
3) Dickinson
Dickinson will definitely have their sights set on mixing things up with Haverford. Bryce Descavish is a talented senior who may look to compete for the individual title, similar to his teammate Eric Herrmann from last year. They also return the Scharf twins, both high finishers from last year. They will probably need their 4th and 5th finishers to have a strong race to beat Haverford.
4) Swarthmore
I was planning to put Ursinus in this position, but I was impressed by Swarthmore’s finish at last year’s conference champs. They return most of their top 7 and will be looking to upset Dickinson with a strong champs race performance. Look for Vaughn Parts, Kevin Hudson, Brendan Penfold, and Lucas Heinzerling to lead the way for this squad.
5) Ursinus
The boys (alma mater bias)! Led by senior captain J McDaddy, a returning 2nd team All Conference performer, the team will be excited to challenge the teams above them. James will look to repeat his All Conference placement while fellow seniors Haase and Delia will seek to improve upon solid seasons last year. Marcos Maciel, Edward Martinez, and Kyle Berardi will hope to cement places in the top 7 to contribute to a strong team performance.
6) Muhlenberg
Muhlenberg’s top dawg Jason Richwall will be looking to improve upon his 13th place finish last year to dip into First Team All Conference positioning within the top 7. They lost a few seniors from last years top 5 in the champs race so they will need Silverman, Walkush, and others to step up to improve their finishing place.
7) Gettysburg
Gettysburg lost some of their top runners from last year due to graduation, but McKeever and Sheldon will have the team pushing hard for 5th place. The championship race takes place on their home course as well, so look for them to use that to their advantage.
8) McDaniel
McDaniel lost Gavin Gibson to graduation, but look for Shaun Thompson to try to improve upon his 56th place finish at last years champs to lead the team.
9) Franklin & Marshall
F & M lost some talented seniors and will likely be leaning on a strong freshmen class as well as returner Stephen Finck.
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