Last Saturday, many Blue Jays took to the warm indoors, preparing for the inevitable arrival of Hurricane Sandy.
But not the Hopkins cross-country teams. Along with coach Bobby Van Allen, the teams made the two-hour haul out to Haverford, Pennsylvania, where they competed in the annual Centennial Conference Championship.
The competition proved to be an excellent venue for showcasing Blue Jay talent with the men’s team improving its standing from the previous year and the women’s team holding on to the elusive CC crown.
In the 2011 CC Championship, the men’s cross-country team finished fourth overall with Hop’s highest-ranking runner placing 25th.
This year, the Jays improved their overall score by 61 points and had eight runners place in the top 25. The average time (25:36) is also the fastest time the team has ever had, exuding great praise from coach Bobby Van Allen. Hopkins also narrowly missed taking second place, losing out to Dickinson by one point.
Max Robinson, a Hopkins junior, helped to propel the Jays to their third place finish with his individual third place finish and a time of 25:00, 36 seconds better than Hopkins fastest average time.
Junior Andrew Carey also ran a great race, finishing tenth overall in his first ever conference varsity race. Junior Julian Saliani and Senior Josh Budman also had great finishes, placing 12th and 13th respectively and earning all-conference honors.
In the JV race, Junior Steve Hyland came out as the overall champion and helped Hopkins on its way to capturing three of the four individual race titles.
The Lady Jays, who also competed in the CC championship, had reason to celebrate after their performance on the track as well.
The women’s team, which is currently ranked No. 2, captured its fifth consecutive Centennial Conference crown.
Six of Hopkins' female runners placed in the top ten, giving the Jays a score of 24 points and allowing them to triumph over second place Haverford by a whopping 63 points, the largest gap between the first and second place teams in the history of the Centennial Conference.
Freshman Hannah Oneda and junior Holly Clarke each helped to secure the victory for Hopkins. Oneda, who placed first overall, is the third Hop runner in history to win the conference title. Clarke also ran a phenomenal race, finishing only a second after Oneda. Both had impressive times with Oneda finishing in 21:03 and Clarke finishing in 21:04.
Oneda and Clarke also currently hold the top six spots for best times in the 6k this season with each holding three of the six.
Senior Annie Monagle, who holds spots seven and ten for top times this year in the 6k, also had an outstanding race, finishing in fourth place overall and gaining first all-conference honors. Sophia Meehan, Ashley Murphy and Lara Shegoski finished in the top ten, placing eight, nine and ten respectively.
With such high performance in the CC Championship, the LadyJays continue to build their reputation as one of the best DIII programs in the nation. And with a gap of just 46 seconds between Hopkins' top five runners, this popular opinion has only gotten stronger.
Just like the men’s JV team, the women’s team also performed exceptionally well, with sophomore Maggie Hashmall helping the Jays to garner their second JV conference crown in a row with a perfect score of fifteen.
The Blue Jays return next weekend at the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in Carlisle, PA. Winners of four consecutive regional titles, the women’s team is currently ranked first in the region. The men’s cross-country team currently ranks fifth, tailing Haverford, Allegheny, Carnegie Mellon and Dickinson.
