Team History
Haverford College men's cross-country began under legendary coach A.W. "Pop" Haddleton in the 1920's, and in his day and for many years thereafter, the team primarily ran, in practice and in competition, on the Woolman Nature Trail, a course that still borders the edge of the 216-acre Haverford campus.
Runners of recent years discovered other locales, such as Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park plus local golf courses and hills, though many practices and a few meets are still held on a somewhat-different campus course.
Since 1978, head coach Tom Donnelly's harriers have qualified teams or individuals for Division III nationals all but three years, and won 12 of the last 15 Mideast Regional meets. With eight Top 10 national placings, including five in the last ten years, Haverford boasts 15 cross country All-Americans, including multiple selections Mike Sheely '82, Seamus McElligott '91, Karl Paranya '97, Donald Letts '07 and Ian Ramsey-North '07.
Sheely was 10th nationally as a freshman and 12th
as a senior, while McElligott, a 10,000-meter finalist at the
1992 Olympic Trials, won the 1990 Division III harrier title to
become the last small college runner invited into the Division
I championship.
Paranya, the first and only Division III runner ever to run a
sub-4 mile (3:57.6), finished fifth and second at the 1995 and
'96 NCAA cross country championships, respectively. Seamus McElligott
won an individual national championship in 1990, and J.B. Haglund
won the NCAA Division III individual title in 2001.
After a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2005, Haverford took second in 2007. It was Haverford's highest NCAA finish in any sport.
The Fords have also won 18 of their last 19 conference cross-country titles (15 straight) and all but one Centennial Conference cross-country, indoor and outdoor track & field championship since the league formed in 1993.