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Johns Hopkins Ranked Number One in Women's Cross Country
Sept. 30, 2009
Complete USTFCCCA Poll (9-30-09) in PDF Format
BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins women's cross country team continues to break new ground as the Blue Jays are ranked number one in the nation in this week's United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Division III Women's Cross Country Poll. The Blue Jays, who share the top spot with Calvin (MI), received four first-place votes and totaled 275 points to earn the ranking, which comes one week after JHU had earned a then program-best national ranking of fourth.
Johns Hopkins, the only team in the Mid.-East Region ranked in the top 25 and one of two Centennial Conference schools ranked in the top 30, ascended to the top of the poll after one of the top performances in school history at last Saturday's Purple Valley Classic at Williams College.
In a field that included defending national champion and then top-ranked Middlebury, seventh-ranked Williams, 23rd-ranked Plattsburgh and 26th-ranked Oberlin, the Blue Jays placed three runners in the top five and five in the top 10 to claim the team title at the prestigious event. Johns Hopkins totaled 29 points with Williams a distant second with 55 points. Middlebury (69), Oberlin (111) and Colby (139) rounded out the top five in the highly competitive 12-team field. In addition to Middlebury winning the national championship a year ago, Williams placed third at the NCAA Championships in 2008.
In addition to marking the first time in program history that the Blue Jays have been ranked number one, this is the first time a Johns Hopkins women's team (in any sport) has been ranked number one. The women's cross country team joins the Blue Jay men's lacrosse, baseball and water polo teams as the only Johns Hopkins teams ever to be ranked number one in the nation. Johns Hopkins has won three national championships in men's swimming, but there were no in-season polls during JHU's three-year run of titles from 1977 through 1979.
Johns Hopkins currently boasts two number-one ranked teams as the Blue Jay water polo team has been ranked number one in the nation in Division III for eight consecutive weeks. In addition, Johns Hopkins is currently ranked ninth in the nation in field hockey, 10th in women's soccer and 32nd in men's cross country. The Blue Jay football and men's soccer teams are also listed as receiving votes in their respective national polls.
Johns Hopkins head coach Bobby Van Allen's cross country team is led by senior Laura Paulsen (Lutherville, MD/Bryn Mawr), the most decorated runner in school history. Paulsen placed second at last week's Purple Valley Classic with a time of 22:24. Paulsen qualified individually for the NCAA Championships as a freshman before leading the Blue Jays to the event as a team in 2007 and 2008. JHU placed 29th in 2007 before last season's 13th-place finish set the stage for this season's dramatic run to the top of the polls.
Senior Mira Patel (Moraga, CA/Campolindo) and sophomore Cecilia Furlong (San Francisco, CA/University HS) also placed in the top five at the Purple Valley Classic as Patel placed third (22:43) with Fulong just behind her in fifth place (22:49). Junior Christina Valerio (West Milford, NJ/West Milford) and freshman Liz Provost (Keene, NH/Keene) rounded out JHU's top 10 finishers as Valerio edged Provost for ninth place with a time of 22:58. Provost was just a second behind her at 22:59.
Johns Hopkins will next be in action on Friday, October 2 when the Blue Jays take part in Lehigh's Paul Short Invitational. There, Johns Hopkins has been placed in the most competitive of the three college division races that will be run that day. Among the top schools expected to compete are West Virginia, North Carolina State and Iona.
USTFCCCA Division III Women's Cross Country Rankings
1T. Johns Hopkins (4) - 275 - 30 -
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