LANCASTER, PA – The Johns Hopkins men's track and field team won its 11^th straight Centennial Conference title Sunday afternoon, beating out Ursinus by just five points. The margin of victory ties Hopkins five-point win over Haverford in 2013 as the closest outcome in championship history.
 
Ethan Oluwole opened up the day in dramatic fashion for the Blue Jays in the long jump. The junior needed his final jump in the prelims to qualify for the final, where he then cleared a personal-best 6.60 meters to take first place by just one centimeter. Hopkins final points from field events came in the high jump, where Wech Ring took third after clearing 1.82 meters.
 
In the mile it was Kenny Wanlass grabbing a third-place finish, crossing the line in 4:17.72 to set a new best time. The freshman was followed closely by Rowan Cassidy (5^th – 4:20.22) and Andrew Myers (8^th – 4:22.19) who also earned points in the race.
 
The Blue Jays had one top-eight finisher in the ensuing three events, giving Ursinus a slight advantage in the overall scores. Spencer Ye earned a seventh-place finish in the 400, crossing the line in 51.88 before James Reilly finished second in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.63. In the 60-meter sprint it was Borkman earning an important two points, securing seventh after crossing the line in 7.21.
 
Hopkins bounced back in the 800, paced by a second-place finish from Fisayo Omonije. The sophomore finished with a time of 1:57.63, with Zach Martin and Evan Kelly coming in just behind in fourth and seventh with times of 1:57.91 and 1:58.72 respectively.
 
The heptathlon was the next event to conclude, with Reilly grabbing the individual title after finishing with 4426 points. The senior sat in second after Day 1 but used wins in the pole vault and 6-meter hurdles to jump into the lead, with Owen Takahashi also using a strong day to finish third. In the final sprint of the day it was the Bears extending their lead after Alex Colletti was Hopkins' lone finisher in the 200, crossing the line in 22.93 to grab seventh.
 
The Blue Jays entered the 3000 down 16 points, but turned that deficit into a 10-point lead after claiming five of the top seven spots in the race. Emmanuel Leblond led all runners with a time of 8:24. 90, with Gavin McElhennon joining the sophomore on the podium with a third-place finish after crossing the line in 8:31.37. Connor Oiler was next to cross the line in fourth with a time of 8:31.94 before Matt Kelly and Thomas Li rounded out Hopkins' point-getters finishing in sixth and seventh respectively.
 
With a 10-point lead and one event to go, the Blue Jays needed to finish at least eighth in the 4x400 to win the title. The quartet of Ahmed Elmogi, Spencer Ye, Michael Long and Omonije did better, finishing fourth to grab five points and secure the five-point victory and 11^th consecutive conference championship.
 
For his efforts in the heptathlon, Reilly was also named the meet's Most Outstanding Field Athlete.
 
Hopkins returns to action Saturday, March 2 to compete in the Tufts Final Qualifier.