Championships Central

BRONX, N.Y. -- For the first time since 2010, the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships return to Van Cortlandt Park, taking place on Friday, Oct. 30. After four years at Princeton's West Windsor Fields, Ivy Heps cross country is back in the Bronx, which hosted the men's and women's races together since 1982, and the men's race since 1939.

Dartmouth brings back four of its top five runners from last season, when it held off Princeton to claim its second-straight Ivy Heps women's cross country title. Three of those returners finished among the top 14 in 2014, part of a group of 11 returning All-Ivy performers, giving the Big Green the edge to three-peat for the first time since winning four in a row from 1994-97. But with Columbia, Cornell and Princeton each bringing back two All-Ivy runners from the 2014 Ivy Heps, as well as the Tigers and Lions' national rankings of No. 20 and No. 25, respectively, along with the change from Princeton's West Windsor Fields to Van Cortlandt Park, it's anyone's title to win.

Team-by-team breakdowns:

BROWN
The Bears are ranked seventh in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Northeast Regional poll. Brown finished seventh last season and looks to get back to the upper half of the standings for the first time since tying for third in 2012. The last time Ivy Heps was held at Van Cortlandt Park, Brown placed third overall with 63 points. Junior Lucy Van Kleunen is back for the Bears; she paced her team with an 11th-place finish in 2014, just ahead of sophomore Natalie Schudrowitz, who took 15th overall as a freshman.

COLUMBIA
The Lions enter the event ranked No. 25 nationally by the USTFCCCA and third in the Northeast region, behind only No. 6 Providence and No. 16 Syracuse. Columbia took third a year ago, its best finish since placing second in 2011. The Lions were also the runner-up the last time Ivy Heps was at Van Cortlandt, in 2010. Columbia brings back its top four runners from a year ago, including seniors Olivia Sadler and Leila Mantilla, who placed fifth and ninth in 2014, respectively. Junior Natalie Tanner also placed among the top 20, crossing the line in 16th. Tanner has led the Lions in multiple meets this season, including the Princeton Inter-Regional (12th) and the Wisconsin adidas Invitational (34th).

CORNELL
The Big Red is ninth in the latest USTFCCCA Northeast regional poll. Cornell placed fourth in 2014 and looks to get back to the top of the standings for the first time since winning back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. The Big Red took fourth the last time Ivy Heps took place at Van Cortlandt Park. Cornell brings back six of its seven runners from a year ago, including its top three performers. Junior Taylor Spillane took sixth overall, just ahead of seniors Caroline Kellner (10th) and Claire Devoe (18th). Spillane has led the Big Red four times this season, including first-place finishes at the 5K Brother Jasper Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park and the 6K Yellowjacket Invitational and a fourth-place run at the 6K Paul Short Gold Race.

DARTMOUTH
The Big Green is in the receiving votes category of the USTFCCCA national poll (32nd overall) and is fourth in the Northeast region, behind No. 6 Providence, No. 16 Syracuse and No. 25 Columbia. Dartmouth returns four runners from its title-winning 2014 squad, including the runner-up senior Dana Giordano. Fellow classmates Sarah Bennett (12th) and Reid Watson (13th) are also back, as is sophomore Ellie Gonzalez (17th). Giordano has not disappointed in 2015, leading the Big Green in every race in which she's competed, including first overall in the 6K Dartmouth Invite, sixth in the 5K Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown and 19th at the 6K Wisconsin adidas Invitational.

HARVARD
The Crimson come in receiving votes in the latest USTFCCCA national ranking (37th overall) and fifth in the Northeast regional poll. Harvard placed fifth a year ago, the same spot it held the last time Ivy Heps took place at Van Cortlandt Park, and looks to get back to the top half of the standings since back-to-back third-place finishes in 2012 and 2013. The Crimson bring back its top two runners from 2014 in senior Paige Kouba, who placed 19th a year ago, and junior Sarah Gillespie, who finished 21st. Freshman Courtney Smith has run well for Harvard in 2015, including an eighth-place finish the 5K HYP to lead the team.

PENN
The Quakers are also in the receiving votes category of the latest USTFCCCA national ranking (38th overall), as well as fifth in the Mid-Atlantic region, trailing only No. 15 Penn State, No. 18 Georgetown, No. 20 Princeton and No. 28 Villanova. Penn placed eighth last season and looks to return to the top half of the standings for the first time since a fourth-place finish in 2007. The Quakers took sixth in 2010, the last time Ivy Heps was at Van Cortlandt Park. All seven of Penn's runners from 2014 are back, including senior Elyssa Gensib, who led the way with a 22nd-place finish. Junior Ashley Montgomery, who took 46th last season, has led the Quakers in every race in which she's competed in 2015, including 11th at the 5K Notre Dame Blue Race and fourth at the 6K Princeton Invitational.

PRINCETON
The Tigers are ranked No. 20 nationally in the latest USTFCCCA poll and third in the Mid-Atlantic region, behind only No. 15 Penn State and No. 18 Georgetown. Princeton is looking to win the Ivy Heps title for the first time since 2010, coincidentally the last time the event took place at Van Cortlandt Park. Among the returners from last year's second-place team are junior Kathryn Fluehr, who took seventh, and sophomore Natalie Rathjen, who placed eighth. Senior Maria Seykora, who crossed the line in 25th, is also back. Junior Lizzie Bird, who last ran at Ivy Heps as a freshman in 2013, has led the Tigers in 2015 in each race in which she's competed, including first at the 5K HYP, third at the 6K Princeton Inter-Regional Meet and 14th at the 6K Wisconsin adidas Invitational.

YALE
The Bulldogs enter the race ranked sixth in the latest USTFCCCA Northeast Regional poll. Yale took sixth last season and looks to return to one of the top four spots for the first time since finishing in fourth-place in 2011. Six of the Bulldogs' seven runners from last year are back, including sophomore Sami Glass, who placed 14th overall. Yale sophomore Dana Klein, who took 37th at last year's Ivy Heps, has led her team three times this season, with a fourth-place finish at the 5K HYP, a 15th-place run at the 5K Virginia Panorama Farms Invitational and a 61st-place at the 6K NCAA Pre-Nationals.