LANCASTER, PA – Emmanuel Leblond and Sara Stephenson have been named the Centennial Conference Cross Country Athletes of the Week on the men's and women's sides after the pair finished first in their respective races at last weekend's Baltimore Metro Invitational. Leblond led his team to a first-place overall finish for the second year running, while Stephenson's winning effort pushed the Jays to a second-place finish behind only Division I Maryland.
 
Leblond — who finished 26^th in the National Championships a season ago — sat in second after the first kilometer, dropping one place to teammate Gavin McElhennon at the 3K-mark before running a 6:00.92 final two kilometers to finish the race in first by less than a second. The win was the first of Leblond's collegiate career after finishing third at the event last season as he'll look to lead the charge with McElhennon in 2023.
 
Stephenson entered the 2023 season having placed ninth in the 2022 NCAAs to help the program secure its eighth National Championship in 10 years, and looked the part in the Jays' season-opening victory. The graduate student sat less than two seconds off the leader at after the first kilometer, gaining a place to run in sixth at the 3K-marker before flying down the home stretch to take home the win. In the final two kilometers, Stephenson outran the next fastest participant by nearly 13 seconds, clocking a 6:52.99 to beat out a trio of Terrapins and earn her first win in a Hopkins uniform.
 
Both the men's and women's programs return to action Friday, Sept. 15 to compete in the Paddy Doyle Meet of Champions, with the opening race set for 10 a.m.