Exeter grad Jonathan Bieber wins his third straight Middle Atlantic Conference 110 hurdles title earlier this month.

Jonathan Bieber’s times had slowed and his body was breaking down. It didn’t look like he was ready to claim another gold medal.

Something happened at the Middle Atlantic Conference Track and Field Championships earlier this month. Something clicked.

“All of a sudden I wake up and I was feeling great and my mind was in the right place,” Bieber said. “I was ready to take on the meet.”

Albright’s senior won the 110 hurdles in 15.36, his personal best, and captured his third consecutive conference title in that event.

It was an out-of-nowhere triumph for the Exeter grad, who hadn’t broken 16 seconds all season.

It was, more importantly, another tribute to his mom.

Bieber dedicated his final two college seasons to Peri, who died of cancer in 2016 shortly after her son earned his first two MAC golds.

Whenever Bieber’s results didn’t match his expectations and he felt like quitting, he thought about his mom. He knew she would want him to continue.

“She was the kindest woman I’ve ever known,” Bieber said. “She always supported me in whatever I did. She did anything for me. If I forgot something at home, she’d run it over. Her and my dad would make almost every track meet.”

Bieber arrived at his first practice at Exeter as a sophomore in search of an event. He ran cross country, like his father, Exeter Hall of Famer Roy Bieber, when he was younger.

Jonathan realized distance running didn’t suit him. He found his way to the hurdles.

Progress was gradual. He was voted the team’s most improved athlete as a junior and named the MVP as a senior.

“He didn’t have a niche,” Exeter coach Kevan Schaeffer said. “He didn’t really know what was going on in track. We got him into the hurdles and started working with him. He had a great work ethic and that took him where he needed to go.”

Bieber’s college rise came as a surprise because his best high school result was a sixthplace finish in the Firing Meet as a senior.

He kept working at it. He kept improving.

“He’s super self-motivated,” Schaeffer said. “He really enjoys it. That definitely helps him out. I knew he was driven. I didn’t think it would go to this level. I’m just really proud of him.”

Bieber’s breakthrough came at the MAC Championships when he was a sophomore. He swept the 110 and 400 hurdles.

His mom was there.

“She was in tears the whole time,” he said. “She couldn’t believe it herself how much I improved.”

Bieber finished his Albright career as a four-time conference champ. He was voted the school’s outstanding track athlete three times and won the Eugene Shirk Award for high scholastic standards. He’ll graduate this week.

After being seeded first in the 110 hurdles as a sophomore and junior, Bieber wasn’t in the top three this year. He fought nagging injuries all spring and feared a possible stress fracture.

That made the victory even sweeter.

“I had all the odds stacked against me,” he said. “I was kind of in shock. I started yelling. I couldn’t believe that I actually won again.”