NEWVILLE, PA - The Johns Hopkins men's cross country team finished 14th at the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Championships Saturday afternoon. The 14th-place finish is the Blue Jays second straight in the top 15 after they finished 12th a season ago.
 
Emmanuel Leblond led the way for Hopkins from start to finish in Saturday's 8K en route to crossing the line in 29th. By finishing in the top 40 with a time of 24:58.5, the sophomore garnered All-American distinction for the second consecutive season, becoming just the second runner in program history to earn the recognition twice in their career. 
 
Next to cross the line for the Jays were a pair of top 100 finishers in Rowan Cassidy and Gavin McElhennon. Cassidy was excellent in his NCAA Championship debut, climbing 33 spots in the final two kilometers to finish in 82nd (67th among point-scorers) with a time of 25:36.2. McElhennon was close behind, crossing the line in 25:41.5 to claim 76th among scoring runners and 97th overall.
 
Rounding out the scoring for Hopkins were senior Jonas Larson and sophomore Matthew Kelly. Larson finished the 8K in 146th (110th among point-scorers) with a time of 25:58.8, while Kelly used a strong final kick to climb 15 spots in the final two kilometers en route to a 152nd-place  finish — 116th among scorers.
 
Pomona Pitzer narrowly took home the National Championship with four runners placing in the top 25 among scoring runners and 158 points, with Wisconsin La Crosse (159) and North Central Ill. (169) completed the podium. The Blue Jays finished 14th with 391 points.