Women's Cross Country Earns No. 14 Spot in USTFCCCA Preseason Poll

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's cross country team was picked No. 14 in the nation in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III preseason poll, the organization announced today.

The Athenas ended last year with an 18th place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships, after winning the SCIAC title for the ninth straight year. In addition, CMS ran away with the NCAA West Region Championship with 39 points (compared to 93 for second-place Pomona-Pitzer) to earn a team qualification to nationals for the 11th year in a row. 

CMS heads into the new campaign needing to replace three of its top seven runners who competed at nationals last year, Malea Martin, Natalie Marsh, and Matilda Msall. Martin (75th) and Marsh (86th) both finished in the top 100 at the NCAA Championships in their final collegiate races, and their absence leaves vacancies at the front of the CMS pack. 

The Athenas, though, have plenty of talent returning to their core, and have several other able runners ready to step up in the absence of the Class of 2019. CMS frequently placed 10 or more runners in the top 25 of its races, showcasing the traditionally strong depth of the program.

Leading the way will be junior Abigail Johnson, who consistently ran with Martin and Marsh in the top three last year and finished eighth at the NCAA Regionals. Johnson went on to earn the SCIAC Championship in the 1500 meters for the track and field team in the spring, helping the Athenas win the league title by only two points. 

Senior Georgia Scherer was one of the seven to compete in the postseason last year for the Athenas, finishing 18th in the regionals to earn All-West honors. She is joined in the Class of 2020 by Laura Fleming, Miranda Foster, Gabriella Kimmerly and Alexandra Lambros, as the five seniors will look to provide the leadership for the Athenas this season. 

Also earning All-West distinction last fall were junior Dulcie Jones and sophomore Riley Harmon, who finished next to each other in 13th and 14th place at the regionals. Harmon went on to earn All-SCIAC honors in the steeplechase in the spring, finishing just ahead of classmate Sophie Gitlin, who will look to make a step forward and earn her way into the top seven for the cross country team this year. 

Supporting the seniors in the veteran leadership department is a very deep junior class, led by Johnson and Jones. Samantha Baker, Natasha Crepeau, Olivia Gleason, Sarah Havlorsen, Delaney Hartmann, Sophie Liles, Jackie McVay, Jessica Torrey and Theresa Versen give the Athenas 11 members of the Class of 2021 to provide experience to a team looking to maintain its perch atop the region after being picked second behind Pomona-Pitzer (No. 8 nationally) in the West Region poll. 

CMS gets its season started next weekend when it competes at the Biola Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 7, beginning at 8:45 a.m.

To view the complete USTFCCCA preseason poll, go to the following link:

USTFCCCA Division III Poll