CMS Women's Cross Country Tied for 10th in USTFCCCA Preseason Poll

CLAREMONT, Calif. - The 10-time defending SCIAC champion Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women's cross country team was picked tied for tenth in the USTFCCCA Division III national preseason poll, the organization announced this week.

CMS, which has qualified for nationals as a team for each of the last 12 years, was in a tie for Middlebury for the No. 10 spot in the national poll. Johns Hopkins, which won the national title in 2019, was picked first. 

The Athenas return most of their key runners from a 2019 team that swept the SCIAC and NCAA West Regional Championships, led by senior Riley Harmon, who earned All-America honors as a sophomore that season. Fellow seniors Sophie Gitlin and Brooklyn Button were also part of the top seven on the 2019 team who represented the Athenas at nationals, as was current junior Isabella Brusco, who was named the SCIAC Newcomer of the Year. 

CMS also gets a boost this year with the return of senior Dulcie Jones, who was scheduled to graduate in 2021, but came back for her final season after the cancelation of her senior year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Senior Emily Clarke was also an All-SCIAC runner in 2019 as a sophomore, when she finished 18th at the conference championship, when CMS boasted 10 of the top 20 finishers. 

For the first time since 1984, the Athenas will have a new head coach, as Marina Muncan took over following the retirement of John Goldhammer after 36 years at the helm. Muncan is a former Olympian and a former All-American at Villanova, who most recently served on the coaching staff at Rutgers University. 

After Johns Hopkins in the top spot, WashU, Williams, Wartburg and Tufts round out the top five in the national poll. Colorado College also represents the West Region at No. 17, while Pomona-Pitzer was also ranked from the SCIAC at No. 24. 

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

USTFCCCA Preseason Poll