LANCASTER, PA – On the heels of its 17th consecutive Centennial Conference Championship, the Johns Hopkins women's cross country program has been tabbed as the preseason favorite to capture its 18th straight conference title. The Blue Jays received all nine possible first-place votes in the preseason poll, announced by the league on Thursday.
 
Leading the charge for Hopkins is junior Carter Brotherton, the reigning Centennial Conference Individual Champion and Runner of the Year. A two-time USTFCCCA All-American and First Team All-Centennial Conference selection, Brotherton returns to lead a strong group of veterans that includes 2025 All-Americans Mia Kotler—the Centennial Conference Rookie of the Year—and Storrie Kulynych-Irvin, along with fellow First Team All-Conference selection Natalie Boquist. The experienced core will be bolstered by a talented incoming freshman class.
 
After capturing its 17th consecutive NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship and placing fourth at the 2025 NCAA Championships, Hopkins enters the 2026 season with its sights set on another conference crown. Led by four-time Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Coach of the Year Bobby Van Allen, who earned the honor again in 2025, the Blue Jays will open the season on September 1 in a joint meet featuring the University of Maryland, Catholic University and Johns Hopkins.
 
2026 Centennial Conference Women's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Johns Hopkins (9) – 81
2. Swarthmore (1) – 67
3. Gettysburg – 63
4. Dickinson – 57
5. Franklin & Marshall – 49
6. Haverford – 48
7. Ursinus – 29
8. Muhlenberg – 27
9. Bryn Mawr – 15
10. McDaniel - 14