ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Led by senior Murphy Smith, who set the USNA Cross Country Course record with a time of 23:25.8, the Navy men's cross country team posted a dominant 18-45 victory over rival Army.
The Midshipmen placed nine runners in the top 10 to run away with the 4.9-mile event, which is part of the overall Army-Navy Star Meet presented by USAA.
"I'm not surprised, but still elated that our men were excellent today," head coach Aaron Lanzel said after the meet. "They sharpen each other in competition and in mental toughness month after month, year after year. They know how quickly the razors edge can dull, and they haven't taken any chances with their goals for the future. Runners of Navy past, spanning over five decades were present this weekend to influence the next generations of our Navy family. The victory was enjoyed by many."
Smith's time of 23:25.8 topped the previous record of 23:30.0, which was set by Louisville's Wesley Korir in 2007 and bested the previous top performance by a Navy runner of 23:39.4 by Lucas Stalnaker in 2016. Justin Mumford was in second place, clocking a time of 23:37.2, which moves the junior into second-place all-time among Navy runners at the USNA Cross Country Course behind Smith.
"It was perfect conditions to run fast today and Murphy is now the fastest to ever to cover our tough terrain with Justin second today and second all time," Lanzel added. "There are some impressive individuals and teams in that top 25 list which still has runners from the 70s and 80s."