LANCASTER, Pa. – Eleven-time defending champion Johns Hopkins has been selected as the unanimous favorite to once again claim conference hardware in the 2019 Centennial Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll. The Blue Jays received all nine possible first-place votes and tallied 81 points in voting among the conference head coaches.
Dickinson was chosen to finish second with 73 points and one first-place vote, followed by Swarthmore (62) and Haverford (60) in third and fourth, respectively.
Gettysburg (44) edged Muhlenberg (42) for the fifth spot, Ursinus (28) and Franklin & Marshall (28) tied for seventh, and Bryn Mawr (22) and McDaniel (10) rounded out the rankings.
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 women's cross country season was headlined by yet another standout season from perennial Centennial Conference and national power Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays raced to a perfect score at the Centennial Championship meet, securing the top seven finishes and nine runners in the top 10.
JHU's Ellie Clawson repeated as Runner of the Year, becoming the sixth runner in CC history to earn multiple top finishes at the conference meet.
Hopkins and Dickinson both qualified for the NCAA National Championships, with the Blue Jays missing out on a third-straight national title by just one point. JHU's 99 points were just one shy of national-champion Washington-St.Louis. Dickinson placed 14th in the team standings, marking the fifth time in conference history that multiple teams have placed in the top-15 at the national meet.
Four from Johns Hopkins earned All-America status at the national championships - Caelyn Reilly (6th), Tasha Freed (19th), Felicia Koerner (22nd), and Therese Olshanski (35th). Reilly and Olshanski return for the Blue Jays this fall.
Reilly and Olshanski are two of eight returing All-Centennial performers from last fall, including teammates Rebecca Grusby, Ariel Keklak, and Arielle Summitt along with Dickinson's Emma Johnston and Isabel Cardi and Haverford's Hannah Doll.
2019 Centennial Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
| Rank | Institution (First-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. Johns Hopkins (9) | 81 |
| 2. Dickinson (1) | 73 |
| 3. Swarthmore | 62 |
| 4. Haverford | 60 |
| 5. Gettysburg | 44 |
| 6. Muhlenberg | 42 |
| T-7. Ursinus | 28 |
| T-7. Franklin & Marshall | 28 |
| 9. Bryn Mawr | 22 |
| 10. McDaniel | 10 |