ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Director of Navy Track and Field Jamie Cook picked up his first star in the Army-Navy rivalry as the Midshipmen earned a 97-84 victory over the Black Knights on Saturday afternoon at the Wesley Brown Field House.
Navy won nine of the 17 events, earning maximum points in 200-meter dash, 400m dash, 60m hurdles, and shot put. With the win, the men's track and field team improves to 31-26-2 against Army West Point in the overall series, including 20-9-2 in Annapolis.
"We executed the way we needed to," Cook said after the meet. "We had a few surprises. I thought the 400 was a key event for us, going 1-2. The hurdlers going 1-2 was big. The throwers did a fantastic job. The mile was pivotal, getting that win early in the meet. It was a fantastic performance. It was good to get a lot of people involved and contribute to the team win. There were a lot of wins across the board. There were a lot of wins from young people so that is good."
On the day, Navy posted wins in the 200m dash, 400m dash, 800m, 1,000m run, 1-mile run, 60m hurdles, long jump, triple jump, and shot put.
Cedric Williams (Powder Springs, Ga.) claimed first place in the long and triple jumps. The sophomore leapt for a distance of 7.23m (23-08.75) to claim the long jump by 0.16m. He notched the best triple jump distance of 14.95m (49-00.75) to win the event by 0.66m. Williams' jump bested his previous long of 14.62m (47-11.75) by 0.33 meters.
In the 60m hurdles, Kordell Williams (Upper Marlboro, Md.) broke his own school record with a time of 8.03 to win the event by 0.15 seconds. The junior trimmed 0.01 second off of his time to set the new program record and cruise to a victory. Williams now holds the top five times and eight of Navy's top 10 times in the event. Plebe Clayton Thompson () was just behind Williams with a season-best time of 8.18 to finish second.
The 200m dash saw Demetrius Lanier (Palm Coast, Fla.) and Devin Enslen (Alamogordo, N.M.) go 1-2 in the event. Lanier clocked a season-best time of 21.51 to win, while Enslen's time of 21.65 was good enough for second. Enslen and Aaron Watson (Union City, Mich.) were Navy's top finishers in the 60m dash, earning third and fourth place, respectively. Enslen's time of 6.82 tied for second fastest in school history, while Watson's 6.87 ranks seventh in the Navy annals.
The Mids earned maximum points in the 400m dash as John Finnegan (Spring, Texas) and Simon Whitfield (Scottsdale, Ariz.) finished back-to-back atop the results. Finnegan crossed the finish line in 49.33 to take first, while Whitfield was just a step back at 49.35 to earn second place.
In the shot put, the Midshipmen claimed the top three spots on the day. Sean Brennan (Westfield, N.J.), John Barber(Sugar Land, Texas) and Mike Milcarek (Woodinville, Wash.) finished in order to dominate the competition. Brennan was the top finisher with a mark of 16.73m (54-10.75), while Barber was second with a throw of 16.09m (52-09.50). Milcarek, who finished in second in the weight throw with a season-best distance of 18.45m (60-06.50), finished third in the shot with his top mark of the season (15.82m / 51-11.00).
Justin Hyytinen (Farmington, Minn.) and Josh Hanna (Winfield, Kan.) posted first place finishes in the 800m and 1,000m runs, respectively. Hyytinen's time of 1:51.89 in the 800m was his fastest of the season, while Hanna's PR of 2:24.65 in the 1,000m was 10th best in Navy history.
In the 1-mile run, Jake Brophy (New Hope, Pa.) helped get the Midshipmen out to an early lead, posting a victory in the event with a season-best time of 4:05.66.
Navy returns to action on Feb. 9-10 as the Midshipmen will travel to Geneva, Ohio to take part in the Spire Division I Invitational.