WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Navy men's track and field team posted a 101-80 victory over Army at Gillis Field House on Saturday at the annual Army-Navy Indoor Star Series Meet, which is part of the overall Star Series presented by USAA. The win was the first for the Midshipmen in West Point since 2015.
"I honestly didn't know how it would go," Director of Navy Track and Field Jamie Cook said after the meet. "With us only having one meet against an opponent because we got a late start, it is very hard to have a good gauge. I think our team competed exceptionally well. I thought our coaching staff did a phenomenal job preparing our athletes."
The 101 points scored marked the second consecutive season the Midshipmen recorded triple digits in the America's Meet. Last season, Navy won 109-71 in Annapolis. The 101 points was the most points scored in West Point by the Mids since notching a 102-79 victory in 2015.
The men's team earned max points in seven events, while winning 10 of 17 events to cruise to the victory.
"I think we had some really good performances from some younger guys," Cook added. "I think some people stepped up in some key areas. There are so many things that stood out. It was fun to watch.
"Clayton came out and ran a school record in the hurdles. We kind of caught a little momentum right there. It was fun to get on a roll a little bit. That is the meet right there. You get some momentum and people tend to step up and a lot of young people did."
The day started strong with Caden Dailey and Nahshon Houston finishing 1-2 in the long jump. Dailey recorded a first-place jump of 7.21m (23-08.00), while Houston came in second with a distance of 7.07m (23-02.50). Zach Peterson finished second in the weight throw with a mark of 18.66m (61-02.75). In the high jump, Eli Lake recorded a personal best height of 2.10m (6-10.75) and Spencer Eves registered a jump of 1.99m (6-06.25) to finish second and third, respectively. The triple jump saw Jordan Payne (14.75m / 48-04.75) and Baynes Autrey (14.17m / 46-06.00) finish 2-3 to leave the score 30-25 in Army's favor after five events.
The Midshipmen swept the pole vault as Walker Rudisaile posted a height of 5.00m (16-04.75) to win the event, while teammates Jack Haller and Charles Crispi each finished with jumps of 4.89m (16-00.50) to finish second and third and knot the score at 33 apiece. Ashwin Briggs kept the meet close with a second-place finish in the 1-mile run with a time of 4:10.64.
Clayton Thompson set the meet record with a Navy record time of 7.87 to win the 60m hurdles, while Brahmir Vick (8.03) finished second to give Navy max points and the lead at 45-43.
Navy won the next five events to extend the advantage to 81-62. Eric Hughey posted a winning time of 48.81 in the 400m dash, while Simon Petsch (1:04.63) and James Love (1:04.71) finished 1-2 in the 500m run. Dailey posted a second first-place finish, clocking a time of 6.87 in the 60m dash. In the 800m run, Alex Rizzo won the race by a full second with a time of 1:53.12. Sean Casey (2:26.40) and Garrett Baublitz (2:26.60) claimed first and second in the 1,000m run.
In the 200m dash, Dailey finished second with a time of 22.01 to move the Midshipmen closer to victory.
Navy clinched the meet by sweeping the 3,000m run. Grant Van Valkenburg won the race with a time of 8:13.84, while teammates Julian Perez (8:14.04) and Miguel Mathias (8:19.67) completed the sweep to seal the victory, 93-72.
Petsch, Thompson, Love, and Hughey combined for a time of 3:16.39 in the 4x400m relay, while Derek Gess, Casey, Briggs, and Rizzo finished second in the 4x800m relay to provide the final margin of 101-80.
Navy returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 27, as the Midshipmen host the Patriot League Indoor Challenge at Wesley A. Brown Field House.
