LANCASTER, Pa., - The Johns Hopkins women's cross country team has been picked atop the Centennial Conference preseason poll once again. The Jays earned all nine possible first place votes from the opposing coaching staffs.
 
The 13-time defending champions enter 2022 as the defending national champions as well. Hopkins narrowly pulled off a seventh national championship on the backs of three All-America performances. While Ella Baran (9th) is gone, graduate student Alex Ross (20th) and junior Paloma Hancock (21st) return to lead an experienced team under Bobby Van Allen's leadership.
 
All-Conference and All-Region performers Sara Stephenson, Sydney Friedel, and Katharine Priu are also returning for the Blue Jays in 2022.
 
Dickinson (71), Swarthmore (61), Haverford (56), and Ursinus (51) round out the top-five of the preseason poll.
 
The Jays season opens on September 1^st in the Baltimore Metro hosted by Goucher College.