Aug. 22, 2012

NEW ORLEANS - The Johns Hopkins women's cross country team has been selected to win its fifth consecutive Mideast Region crown according to the USTFCCCA Division III Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Blue Jay men are ranked third in the Mideast Region, the program's highest ranking in school history. The Mideast Region includes 68 institutions.

Both cross country teams garnered preseason accolades on the national level, as well. The women are ranked seventh in the nation, while the men are tabbed a program-high 23rd.

The women's team returns six of its top seven runners from a 2011 team that won its fourth-straight Mideast Region title and finished 14th at the NCAA Championships. All-American junior Holly Clarke leads the way for the Blue Jays, having finished eighth at regionals and 24th at nationals last season.

The women have held the top spot in the Mideast Region for over 30 consecutive polls, dating back to the 2008 season.

Junior Max Robinson sets the pace for a men's squad that returns four of its top five runners and made its first appearance in the NCAA Championships since 1977. The Hopkins men finished fourth at regionals and 26th at nationals in 2011.

Both men and women are scheduled to open the 2012 season in Cockeysville, Md. at the Baltimore Metro Invitational.

USTFCCCA Women's Division III Mideast Region Poll:

1. Johns Hopkins

2. Elizabethtown

3. Dickinson

4. Grove City

5. Haverford

6. Muhlenberg

7. Carnegie Mellon

8. Gettysburg

9. Marywood

10. Allegheny

10. Penn State Behrend

USTFCCCA Men's Division III Mideast Region Poll:

1. Haverford

2. Allegheny

3. Johns Hopkins

5. Carnegie Mellon

6. Elizabethtown

7. Swarthmore

8. Gwynedd-Mercy

9. York (Pa.)

10. DeSales

USTFCCCA Women's Division III National Poll (top-10):

1. Middlebury

2. Williams

3. SUNY Geneseo

4. Washington (Mo.)

5. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

6. MIT

7. Johns Hopkins

8. St. Lawrence

9. Wartburg

10. Calvin

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