LANCASTER, PA – Johns Hopkins' Sara Stephenson and Emmanuel Leblond have been named the Centennial Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week, as released this morning. Both runners were the Blue Jays' top-finishers at last Saturday's Paul Short Invitational.
 
Stephenson paced Hopkins on the women's side of the meet, finishing in 55^th in the 6K Gold Race with a time of 21:21.8. In a field of just under 400 competitors, the graduate student moved up 27 spots in the final two miles and was the second Division III runner to cross the line at a meet stacked with Division I programs. Stephenson's efforts helped lead the team to a win over the likes of Lehigh, UMass Lowell and eighth-ranked Wisconsin-La Crosse.
 
Leblond found himself in a similar situation during Saturday's 8K Gold Race, gaining 21 positions over the race's final three kilometers to narrowly miss out on a top-50 finish, crossing the line in 51^st with a time of 24:43.7. Competing against top level talent across all three divisions, the sophomore was the seventh Division III runner to finish, helping his team beat out sixth-ranked SUNY Geneseo as well as Rutgers and Bucknell.
 
Both the men's and women's cross country teams are back in action Saturday, Oct. 14 to compete in the Mike Woods Invitational and Border Battle.