SALISBURY, MD – The Johns Hopkins men's cross country team put on a clinic at its season opener Saturday morning, claiming each of the top seven and nine of the top 10 spots at the Salisbury Fall Classic en route to a first-place team finish.
 
Emmanuel Leblond picked up right where he left off following an All-American season in 2023, running the only sub-25-minute 8K on the day to take first with a time of 24:54.4. Coming in just behind the junior to complete the podium were Rowan Cassidy and freshman Olaf Dietz, who crossed the line in second and third with times of 25:04.9 and 25:11.4 respectively.
 
Connor Oiler was next to cross the line in fourth with a time of 25:13.2 before graduate transfer Lucas Rackers completed the top five finishing in 25:24.5 in his Blue Jays debut. Sean Enright and Andrew Myers finished sixth and seventh before the streak of Hopkins runners finally came to a close at the hands of a Seton Hall runner, with Kenny Wanlass (9^th / 25:40.6) and Brady Ott (10^th / 25:43.7) rounding out the meet's top 10.
 
Other top 20 finishers for the Blue Jays included Lance Nicholls (13^th / 25:51.4), Eli Merritt (16^th / 25:59.9) and Nash Minor (17^th / 26:01.2). Taking points from each team's top five finishers, the Blue Jays easily took first with just 15 points, with Seton Hall (67 points) and Navy (86) rounding out the top three in what was a dominant opening race from top to bottom for Hopkins.
 
The Blue Jays now get two weeks off before returning Friday, Sept. 20 to compete at the Haverford Main Line Invitational, with races set to begin at 4 p.m.