On the third Saturday in November, Johns Hopkins athletics experienced the finest 10 hours in program history. Three teams participated in NCAA postseason competition. All of them won. But women's cross-country brought home the biggest prize of all—a national championship.
At the NCAA Division III national meet in Terre Haute, Indiana, three Johns Hopkins runners placed in the top 32 (out of 277 runners) to lead the team to victory by the largest points margin since 2002. Hannah Oneda completed a phenomenal freshman season by coming in 10th, earning all-American honors along with teammates Holly Clarke and Annie Monagle. Clarke became the program's first two-time all-American.
Cross-country's triumph is Johns Hopkins' first national championship in any women's sport. But the big day for women did not end in Indiana. That evening in Pennsylvania, women's soccer went up against unbeaten Lynchburg College in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III soccer championship and ended the Hornets' season with a 3-1 victory. Kelly Baker, Jenny Hall, and Emily Nagourney scored for the Jays. Johns Hopkins' season came to a halt the following night as the top-ranked team in the nation, Messiah College, defeated the Jays in the national quarterfinals, 3-0. Johns Hopkins' sterling season ended at 18-5-1. Sophomore Hannah Kronick added to the list of accomplishments by Johns Hopkins athletes named Hannah when she broke the school record for goals in a season and was named conference player of the year. Head coach Leo Weil was named conference coach of the year.
Cross-country's championship was announced at halftime of the football team's first-round NCAA Division III playoff game. Coach Jim Margraff's team had already won its fourth straight Centennial Conference championship and come within two points of a second consecutive undefeated season. In the playoff game, the Jays dominated Washington & Jefferson College, amassing 595 yards of total offense in a 42-10 victory. At press time, the Blue Jays were set for a second-round encounter with the University of Mount Union, the nation's top-ranked team, in Alliance, Ohio.
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