SPARTANBURG, SC – Johns Hopkins senior Emmanuel Leblond capped his career with a historic performance on Saturday, capturing the first individual national title in program history and leading the Blue Jays to a sixth-place team finish with 216 points, the second-highest finish in team history.
 
Leblond, the Centennial Conference Runner of the Year, delivered on the season-long anticipation surrounding him. After placing sixth at last year's NCAA Championships, he returned determined—and made history. His victory marks the program's highest individual finish since 2019, when Jared Pangallozzi placed fourth. Leblond also becomes the only athlete in this year's field and just the 18th runner in Division III history to earn four consecutive All-America honors.
 
From the opening strides, Leblond positioned himself among the leaders, sitting fifth through 1K and moving into second by the 4K mark. At 6K, a group of four began pulling away, setting up a decisive final mile. With a kilometer to go, Leblond and Augsburg's Mohammed Bati were locked together, but the senior surged when it mattered most. Over the final 400 meters, he unleashed a dominant kick, separating from Bati and crossing the line over four seconds ahead. His time of 23:35.0 set a new championship record, breaking the previous mark set in 2015 by four-tenths of a second.
 
Behind their new national champion, the Blue Jays secured their highest team finish since 2019. Freshman Anthony Clark placed 19th in 24:22.9, earning All-America honors as the fastest freshman in the entire field. After opening in 56th at 1K, he climbed steadily and reached as high as 14th at 6K before settling into a top-20 finish.
 
Kenny Wanlass finished 54th in 24:53.9, bouncing back after slipping from around 30th place to 73rd mid-race. He rallied over the final kilometer, gaining 19 positions. Brady Ott claimed 77th in 25:04.6, closing strong with his fastest split of the morning, while freshman Cedar Nichols-Barnhart rounded out the scoring in 129th (25:33.0), gaining eight spots in the final 1K.
 
With Leblond's historic win, the Blue Jays close the 2025 season with a national champion for the first time in program history—and one of the most memorable team performances ever recorded at Johns Hopkins.