CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Johns Hopkins men's cross country team competed Friday morning at the Virginia Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia. The Blue Jays placed second in a competitive nine-team field, tallying 59 points to finish behind only the meet hosts, Division I sixth-ranked Virginia, who scored 18 points in the 8K race.
 
The Cavaliers claimed the top two individual spots, but senior Emmanuel Leblond led the charge for the Blue Jays, clocking in at 23:58.8 to finish third overall. Leblond's effort led a pack of five Hopkins runners who finished among the top-25, including three in the top-10.
 
Freshman Anthony Clark shined in his collegiate debut, placing seventh in 24:33.9 as the second-fastest freshman in the field, just five seconds behind Virginia's Adam Balewicz. Senior Rowan Cassidy followed behind, rounding out the Blue Jays' top-10 trio with a ninth-place finish in 24:52.4.
 
Rounding out the scoring five for Johns Hopkins were junior Nash Minor and sophomore Brady Ott. Minor crossed in 25:09.9 to finish 16^th, while Ott secured the final scoring spot with a 24^th-place finish in 25:16.3.
 
Johns Hopkins, which was ranked fourth in the USTFCCCA Division III Preseason Poll, will return to action on Friday, October 3 when the Blue Jays travel to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to compete in the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh.