LANCASTER, Pa. – Five-time defending champion Haverford has been tabbed as the favorite to repeat in the 2019 Centennial Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll. The Fords claimed six first-place votes and totaled 62 points to sit atop the voting. 

Johns Hopkins, which narrowly fell to Haverford by just one point in the 2018 championship, finished second in the voting with three first-place votes and 59 points. Dickinson (50), Swarthmore (43), and Muhlenberg (33) ranked third through fifth, respectively, in the voting among conference head coaches. 

Gettysburg (29) was picked sixth, followed by Ursinus (24) in seventh and Franklin & Marshall (12) and McDaniel (12) in a tie for eighth. 

The 2019 season opens up on Friday, Aug. 30 for eight of the nine Centennial squads. The Centennial Conference Championship meet is set for Saturday, Nov. 2 at Gettysburg. 

2019 Schedule | 2018 Results | 2018 Championship Results | 2018 All-Centennial Team | Record Book

The 2018 men's cross country season featured two Centennial teams at the NCAA Championships for the third-straight year, with Centennial-champion Haverford taking fourth place at nationals and Johns Hopkins finishing ninth. The pair of top-10 team placings marked just the second time in conference history that the feat has been accomplished, with the other occuring in 2010, when Haverford claimed the national title and Dickinson placed fifth. 

The conference championship was one for the ages last fall, as Haverford's 34 points defeated Johns Hopkins' 35 points by the smallest winning margin in CC history. Dickinson's Eric Hermann, a senior last season, raced to the individual title to become the second Red Devil runner to claim top honors and the Runner of the Year award. 

A quartet of Centennial runners earned All-America honors at the NCAA Championships, led by Hopkins' Jared Pangallozzi, who returns for his junior campaign this fall. The Haverford trio of then-seniors Graham Peet (16th), Greg Morgan (18th), and Ryan Herlihy (29th) also grabbed top-40 placings at nationals en route to All-America recognition. 

Six All-Centennial performers from last fall are back in the fold this season, headlined by JHU's tandem of Pangallozzi and Andrew King, who each collected first team accolades. Hopkins' Connor Delahanty, Dickinson's Bryce Descavish, Muhlenberg's Jason Richwall, and Ursinus' James McDaid were second-team honorees in 2018. 

2019 Centennial Conference Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll