The Muhlenberg men’s and women’s cross country teams are looking to move up in rank when they compete in the Centennial Conference Championships this Saturday at Dickinson College. The starting gun for the women’s race is scheduled to go off at 11:00, with the men’s race slated for a noon start.

Earlier this year, at the Dickinson Invitational, the men placed fifth out of 15 teams and the women placed sixth out of 19 teams. Team captains Brendan Gallagher and Katie Garrett both said, “We are excited to be running at Dickinson College because of the familiarity with the course. The veteran runners ran there the past two years and rookies ran there this year.”

The men’s team finished fourth at the CC Championships last year, which was the best finish in Muhlenberg history. Gallagher says, “I am very excited and so is the team. Finishing higher then fourth has been a team goal all season.”

Success for the men’s team lies on the shoulders of Gallagher, who has made All-Mideast Region each of the last two seasons, and sophomore Rob Uniszkiewicz, who was a Freshman All-Region second-team selection last season.

With Haverford being ranked fourth in the nation and first in the

Senior Katie Garrett has been the first Muhlenberg runner across the finish line in every race this fall.

CC, “This provides a tough test for our team,” according to Gallagher. “Everybody is expecting to finish third, but what we hope will happen is that all of us have our best day and other teams have an off day. If this happens we can have a shot at a first-place finish.”

The women’s team finished seventh last year, and was not satisfied with that finish, so the Mules are hungry to achieve better this year. Leading the way for the women are Garrett, freshman Jenna Belisonzi, and sophomore Diana Garretto, a Freshman All-Region second-team selection last season.

Garrett says, “We feel good and confident that we are ready to compete against all the teams participating. Our goal this weekend is to finish in the top five somewhere.”

The best finish to date for the Muhlenberg women’s team was fifth place, in 1997.

Muhlenberg College will host the first Centennial Conference championship tournament in women’s soccer this weekend, and if the regular season is any indication, the games will be exciting and the compeititon close.

Top-seeded defending champion Muhlenberg, which went through the CC

Senior Jennie Vroman is the Mules’s fourth-leading scorer with 10 points on the season.

regular season with a perfect 10-0 mark, will face Franklin & Marshall in the first semifinal on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11:30. That game will be followed by a matchup between second-seeded Gettysburg and Johns Hopkins. The championship match is set for Sunday at 1:00, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Of the six games played among among the four schools this season, one ended in a tie and the other five were decided by one goal. Three of the four schools have combined to win all but one of the previous CC championships: Muhlenberg in 2000, Gettysburg in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999 and Johns Hopkins in 1996 and 1997.

“It’s going to be extremely tough,” said Mule senior co-captain Jennie Vroman. “But I think we have as good a chance as anyone.”.

Here’s a quick look at the four competing teams:

Muhlenberg (16-2, 10-0): The Mules, ranked fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Region, enter the tournament with a school-record 14-game winning streak. They have also tied a record with 10 shutouts this season. Sophomore Dawn Iberer leads Muhlenberg with 14 goals and 31 points, while freshman Rebecca Armstrong has six goals and seven assists. The Mules have a 9-1 all-time series lead against Franklin & Marshall, including a 3-0 win in the 1998 ECAC championship game. They won the regular-season meeting, 2-1 in double overtime.

Gettysburg (12-5, 9-1): The Bullets’ only CC blemish this season was a 4-3 double-overtime loss to Muhlenberg. The sixth-ranked team in the region is led by Jenny Line, who has set a school record for freshmen with 26 points on 10 goals and six assists – all against CC competition. She scored in every CC game but one this year. Gettysburg leads the all-time series against Johns Hopkins, 6-3, including a 1-0 win this season.

Johns Hopkins (11-3-3, 6-2-2): The Blue Jays boast the top defense in the CC, allowing only nine goals in 17 matches. The Blue Jays, ranked seventh in the region, are the defending ECAC Mid-Atlantic champions. Freshman Jen Baldwin leads Hopkins with eight goals and 10 assists.

Franklin & Marshall (12-4-1, 6-3-1): The Diplomats qualified for the playoffs despite going only 2-2-1 in their last five regular-season games. Junior Heather Rice ranks eighth in CC history with 83 career points, including 30 this season on 10 goals and 10 assists.