Johns Hopkins Cross Country – National Rankings
Hannah Oneda 181 leads JHU women’s XC to Sea Gull Opener championship in Salisbury, MD – 8/31/13. Author’s photo.
When one thinks of the Johns Hopkins University, probably the first thought is of a top-notch and elite educational institution – and that is certainly true. And if you think about sports at JHU, probably the first picture is lacrosse. But what most Baltimore/Maryland people likely do not realize is that the Hopkins cross country teams are running in rare air nationally on the NCAA Division III level.
The Blue Jays women are the defending national champions with a current ranking of #1 in the USA, while the men have vaulted to their highest ranking ever at #8.
For the men, the team jumped from 32nd place last week on the strength of their Centennial Conference championship. At that meet, the Jays narrowly defeated the then #8-ranked Dickinson College and #12 Haverford College. It was a first conference victory for the men, as Haverford and Dickinson are the perennial powers; and it was the first conference championship at the school since 1953 in a previous league called the Mason-Dixon Conference!
The men were led by senior Max Robinson from Rye, NY – as he placed third in the time of 26:01 over the hilly 8k course at McDaniel College. The JHU guys placed 3-5-7-9-10-11 with a total range of but 25 seconds separating the top six – that is very impressive.
The Hopkins women easily captured the conference title while retaining the #1 ranking they have enjoyed all season. The team tallied the incredibly low score of 17 points with a 1-2-3-5-6 finish. Leading the way in 22:22 (for 6k) was senior Holly Clarke of Lincoln, MA. After finishing 3rd as a sophomore and 2nd as a junior, it was more than appropriate for her to take the top position this year.
However, the top JHU runner from the national championship team last year and throughout this season has been Hannah Oneda of Westminster. The sophomore product of Winters Mill High School was 3rd (22:30) in the conference race behind Clarke and junior Frances Loeb (22:29). Oneda was 10th in the national meet in 2012, with Clarke placing 25th.
Having coached high school cross country for 13 years in Maryland (Williamsport HS), I can attest that Oneda is the best runner over that time. Running on a team in both my conference (MVAL) and state division (2A), she simply destroyed course records week after week. She holds the state record at the infamously brutal course at Hereford High School, winning in 2011 in the time of 18:28. To put that into perspective, my boys team finished 2nd in the state that same day, and she would have been my #5 runner on that team! Oneda broke the 30-year-old state record for 3200 meters on the track by running it in 10:52.
The Blue Jays XC teams will run in the NCAA Regional meet this Saturday in Allentown.
When one thinks of the Johns Hopkins University, probably the first thought is of a top-notch and elite educational institution – and that is certainly true. And if you think about sports at JHU, probably the first picture is lacrosse. But what most Baltimore/Maryland people likely do not realize is that the Hopkins cross country teams are running in rare air nationally on the NCAA Division III level.
The Blue Jays women are the defending national champions with a current ranking of #1 in the USA, while the men have vaulted to their highest ranking ever at #8.
For the men, the team jumped from 32nd place last week on the strength of their Centennial Conference championship. At that meet, the Jays narrowly defeated the then #8-ranked Dickinson College and #12 Haverford College. It was a first conference victory for the men, as Haverford and Dickinson are the perennial powers; and it was the first conference championship at the school since 1953 in a previous league called the Mason-Dixon Conference!
The men were led by senior Max Robinson from Rye, NY – as he placed third in the time of 26:01 over the hilly 8k course at McDaniel College. The JHU guys placed 3-5-7-9-10-11 with a total range of but 25 seconds separating the top six – that is very impressive.
The Hopkins women easily captured the conference title while retaining the #1 ranking they have enjoyed all season. The team tallied the incredibly low score of 17 points with a 1-2-3-5-6 finish. Leading the way in 22:22 (for 6k) was senior Holly Clarke of Lincoln, MA. After finishing 3rd as a sophomore and 2nd as a junior, it was more than appropriate for her to take the top position this year.
However, the top JHU runner from the national championship team last year and throughout this season has been Hannah Oneda of Westminster. The sophomore product of Winters Mill High School was 3rd (22:30) in the conference race behind Clarke and junior Frances Loeb (22:29). Oneda was 10th in the national meet in 2012, with Clarke placing 25th.
Having coached high school cross country for 13 years in Maryland (Williamsport HS), I can attest that Oneda is the best runner over that time. Running on a team in both my conference (MVAL) and state division (2A), she simply destroyed course records week after week. She holds the state record at the infamously brutal course at Hereford High School, winning in 2011 in the time of 18:28. To put that into perspective, my boys team finished 2nd in the state that same day, and she would have been my #5 runner on that team! Oneda broke the 30-year-old state record for 3200 meters on the track by running it in 10:52.
The Blue Jays XC teams will run in the NCAA Regional meet this Saturday in Allentown.