ANNAPOLIS, Md. – It was quite the day for the Navy track and field team, as they cruised to a Star Meet sweep over Army in men's and women's track and field.
The wins give the Midshipmen a 10-3 lead in the 2019-20 Star Series presented by USAA.
The Navy men's track and field team won 13 of 17 events to post a 109-71 victory over Army West Point in the annual Army-Navy Indoor Star Meet, which is part of the overall Star Series presented by USAA. The Midshipmen recorded maximum points in eight events to cruise to the victory in America's Meet.
"This team competes," Director of Navy track and field Jamie Cook said after the meet. "What we always talk about is competition and leadership. That is why they choose to come here and that is why I chose to coach here and help in their development. It is fun to see when things go the way you plan for them to go. It is rewarding. It is rewarding for them. The excitement they are feeling for being genuinely excited for their teammates. It is for me, it is awesome."
The Meet started with Tommy Reeder (Kiln, Miss.) posting a personal best in the weight throw of 19.28m (63-03.25) to win the event. Caden Dailey (Centreville, Va.) followed with a victory in the long jump, notching a distance of 7.46m (24-05.75) to put Navy in front 12-10.
Jake Brophy (New Hope, Pa.) extended the Midshipmen's advantage with a victory in the 1-mile run, clocking a time of 4:06.29.
Over the next four races – 60m hurdles, 400m dash, 500m dash, and 60m dash – Navy claimed max points coming in first and second in the events. Clayton Thompson (Corpus Christi, Texas) broke his own school record in the 60m hurdles (7.92) to take first place ahead of teammate Cameron Hurd (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) who took second with a time of 8.39. Eric Hughey (Lee's Summit, Mo.) and Simon Petsch (Billings, Mont.) finished 1-2 in the 400m dash with times of 48.05 and 48.96, respectively. John Finnegan (Spring, Texas) and James Love (Star, Idaho) also finished back-to-back in the 500m dash with times of 1:03.68 and 1:04.72 to win the event and extend the advantage to 36-18. In the 60m dash, Evan Lexo (Groton, Mass.) just barely edged Dailey, 6.87 to 6.93, to finish first ahead of his teammate and once again give Navy maximum points.
Ashwin Briggs (Pickerington, Ohio) continued the trend of winning for Navy, claiming the 800m run with a time of 1:51.52. Chase Rivera (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Sean Casey (Vienna, Va.) finished first and second in the 1,000m run to push the advantage once more.
The score was 70-39 through 10 events. After coming in second and third in the 200m dash, Navy won the triple jump as Cedric Williams (Powder Springs, Ga.) won the event with a distance of 14.86m (48-09.00).
The Midshipmen came closer to the goal of 91 points by sweeping the 3,000m run. Kevin Murray (Wilmington, Del.), Brophy, and Julian Perez (Beaumont, Texas) finished 1-2-3 in the event to give Navy 90 points with four events to go.
Navy clinched the meet with a victory in the 4x400m relay. The team of Hughey, Petsch, Love, and Finnegan combined for a time of 3:14.15 to win the race and secure the star for the Midshipmen.
The Midshipmen added to their point total with a first and second place finish in the pole vault. Jack Haller (Cumming, Ga.) cleared 5.00m with a season-best height of 5.05m (16-06.75), while teammate Charles Crispi (Staten Island, N.Y.) was second with a jump of 4.85m (15-11.00).
Army claimed the high jump and 4x800m relay, but Navy prevailed by a final score of 109-71.
The Navy women's track and field team posted a 93-80 victory over rival Army West Point on Saturday afternoon to claim the indoor star in the annual Army-Navy Indoor Star Series Meet, which is part of the Star Series presented by USAA. The indoor victory was the first for the Midshipmen since 2014.
Navy won eight of the 17 events on the day on the women's side. In addition, the Midshipmen posted five school records en route to the victory. The Mids set school records in the 60m dash, 200m dash, 4x400m relay, triple jump, and weight throw.
"This team competes," Director of Navy track and field Jamie Cook said after the meet. "What we always talk about is competition and leadership. That is why they choose to come here and that is why I chose to coach here and help in their development. It is fun to see when things go the way you plan for them to go. It is rewarding. It is rewarding for them. The excitement they are feeling for being genuinely excited for their teammates. It is for me, it is awesome."
The meet started out with a win in the weight throw Ariana McKenzie (Potomac, Md.) broke the Navy school record with a distance of 19.04m (62-05.75) to win the event and put the Midshipmen in front. Sam Orie (Greensburg, Pa.) was second in the event with the second-best distance in program history (18.61m / 61-00.75) to help the Mids sweep the event and take an early 8-3 lead.
Trailing 23-21, Navy swept the top spots in the 400m dash to regain the lead, 29-26. Chloe Alfieri (Harvard, Mass.) posted the sixth fastest time in program history (55.29) to win the event, while Lauren Heaton (Russia, Ohio) came in second with a time of 57.22.
The 400m dash gave the Midshipmen a lead that they would not relinquish.
Chelsey Edwards (Schertz, Texas) notched the seventh fastest time in navy history in the 500m dash (1:12.75) to win the event and push Navy's advantage to 36-30.
Army gained a point back in the 60m dash, but senior captain Regine Tugade (Dededo, Guam) onced against etched her name into the Navy record book setting the school record with a time of 7.57 to finish second. Molly Mangan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished third with a time of 7.60 that ranks third in program history.
Captain Kara Kakascik (Weirton, W.Va.) passed her Black Knight counterpart in the final stretch of the 800m run to come away with a victory, clocking a 2:12.10 to win by 0.28 seconds.
Army won the shot put and the 1,000m run to close the gap to 56-54. The Black Knights also edged the Midshipmen in the 200m dash. During the 200m dash, Mangan posted a new Navy record with a time of 24.42 in the event to take second, while Tugade came in third with the fifth fastest time in program history (24.59).
Leading 61-60, Navy received a big boost over the next four events to take control of the meet.
Led by freshman Charlene Morke (Isanti, Minn.) Navy swept the pole vault for maximum points. Morke won the event with a jump of 3.75m (12-03.50). Audrey Fernandez (South Hill, Wash.) won the triple jump, breaking the school record with a distance of 12.40m (40-08.25). Emily Craig (Reisterstown, Md.) leaned at the finish line to out touch her opponent and win the 3,000m run (9:51.58) by 0.04 seconds. In the 4x400m relay, the quartet of Edwards, Kakascik, Mangan, and Alfieri broke their own school record with a time of 3:42.73 to win the event and give Navy an 88-74 lead with two events remaining.
High jumpers Taylor Buchanan (Columbia, S.C.) and Molly Chapman (Leesburg, Va.) finished second (1.63m / 5-04.25) and third (1.58m / 5-02.25), respectively, to secure five points and give Navy the victory. The 4x800m saw a double disqualification due to an error by the lap counter so Navy claimed the victory, 93-80.
