LANCASTER, Pa. – The postseason gets started this Saturday for the Franklin & Marshall women's cross country team. Haverford will serve as the host of the 2026 Centennial Conference Championship. The women's race is set for 11 a.m. while the men will follow at 12 p.m.

F&M placed fifth at last year's conference championship and returns both of its All-Centennial Conference performers from a season ago. All-Centennial Conference recognition is presented to the top 14 finishers at Saturday's championship race. Katie Scott placed 11th at least year's championship, while Tara Silverman finished 12th.

Silverman has taken home the individual title during both of the Diplomats' home meets this season and is coming off a fourth-place finish at Gettysburg's Aubrey Shenk Invitational. She has been F&M's top finisher in every meet she has competed in this season. Scott finished in 22:09.4 at last year's conference championship and joined Silverman as an all-region selection in 2025.

First-years Maren Blanks and Courtney Carlson have also starred throughout their rookie campaigns. Blanks was the individual champion of the 4,000-meter course at Dickinson's Long-Short Invitational and was later named the Centennial Conference Runner of the Week for that effort. Carlson nearly broke the 24-minute mark when she ran her first collegiate 6K just two weeks ago.

An experienced team also features seniors Jordyn Collie, Georgia Hodgson, and Hana Hyman. Collie and Hyman have already broken the 24-minute mark on a 6,000-meter course, with Hyman posting that personal best time just two weeks ago. Hogdson also posted her best 6K time just two weeks ago at Gettysburg (24:22.3). Junior Emily Jones also joined the sub-24 minute club at Gettysburg with her personal best time of 23:52.0.

With up to 12 runners allowed to compete for each team, Teagan Altman, Layli Katirai, and Clara Pallordet will each be making their conference championship debuts during their rookie seasons. Sophomore Sophia Bloom is another experienced runner for the Diplomats as she placed 74th at last year's championship.

The Diplomats are among six regionally-ranked teams competing for the Centennial Conference Championship this weekend as F&M is currently fifth in the latest Mid-Atlantic rankings. Johns Hopkins is the top team in the Mid-Atlantic Region, while Swarthmore holds the top spot in the Metro Region poll. Haverford (No. 3 Metro), Gettysburg (No. 8 Mid-Atlantic), and Dickinson (No. 9 Mid-Atlantic) also bring regionally-ranked teams into the weekend. F&M's best ever finish at the Centennial Conference Championship was a third-place showing in 1999, while the 2005 squad placed fourth.

After this weekend's Centennial Conference Championship, the Diplomats have two more weeks to prepare for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship which is being held at Lock Haven on Saturday, November 14. That race will be the meet where bids to the NCAA Division III National Championships will be awarded.