Navy Men Win Indoor Track & Field Star Meet

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Matt Newell and Justin Mumford each set Indoor Star Meet records to headline the Navy's men's track & field team's 98-83 victory over Army on Saturday afternoon at the Wesley Brown Field House.

The Midshipmen claimed their seventh-consecutive indoor Star Series title, matching the program's previous best winning streak from 2002-08.
 
With the women's squad winning their meet (94-87), the Navy program won its 26th-consecutive Star win (combined men's and women's) across the indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
"This dual is designed to be close, and to win 26 in a row — that's never been done before," said Navy Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Jamie Cook. "It's a testament to our athletes, coaches and the culture we've built since 2019. We're proud of this group and we're going to keep getting better."
 
Newell broke a 40-year-old meet record in the 1,000 meters, winning in 2:23.44 to surpass the mark set by Army's Dan Browne (2:23.50, Feb. 13, 1986). The time also ranks as the sixth-fastest effort in program history. Mumford added a record of his own in the 3,000 meters, clocking 7:57.42 to eclipse Miguel Mathias' previous meet mark of 8:04.71 set in 2022.

Track Events
Navy jumpstarted the scoring by sweeping the mile, led by Dane Elke's career-best 4:04.56 for the win. Patrick Gandini followed in 4:06.52 to give the Mids an early 17-16 advantage.
 
The Midshipmen recorded another sweep in the 60-meter hurdles. Jason Keiser won in a time of 8.08, while Michael Wilkerson (8.14) bettered Austin Hernandez (8.17) for second.
 
Navy continued its momentum in the 400 meters as Simon Alexander edged Nathan Kent in a photo finish. Alexander posted a season best 47.64, the fastest time by a Mid this year, with Kent close behind in 47.65.  The results of the race extended the lead to 33-22.
 
Army answered with a sweep in the 500 meters to close the margin to 36-30.
 
Navy took a 41-36 lead after the 60-meter dash that saw Tyler Yurich (6.814) place second and Marcel Jackson finish third (6.819).
 
Ben Marks recorded a season best 1:53.28 to place second in the 800 meters, narrowly edging Army's Jack Musgrave, who ran a 1:53.30. The Black Knights claimed the event with Ammon Smith's winning time of 1:52.21.
 
Navy swept the 200 meters, as Kent won in 21.37 and Yurich followed with a season best 21.43, making the score 71-61.
 
Mumford's record-setting run in the 3,000 meters was followed by Jackson Nguyen's second-place finish of 8:08.95 to complete the sweep.
 
The Midshipmen and Black Knights split the relay events. Navy's 4x400-meter relay of Cooper Wakley, David Walker, Conor McFadden and Alexander rallied from an early deficit to win in 3:14.46, topping Army's 3:15.40. McFadden provided the decisive move on the third leg.
 
Army captured the 4x800-meter relay in a tight race, edging Navy 7:34.11 to 7:36.39.
 
Field Events
Aaron Spears led Navy in the weight throw with a career-best throw of 19.13 meters (62-9.25) to finish second, marking the top weight throw by a Mid this season.
 
William Pierce placed second in the long jump with a season-best leap of 7.31 meters (24-5.50).
 
Navy recorded its first field-event sweep in the pole vault, as Brian Schloeder won with a clearance of 5.10 meters (16-8.75), followed by Gunnar Kimball at 5.00 meters (16-4.75).
 
The Midshipmen also swept the high jump. Sheldon Ulmer won by clearing 2.06 meters (6-9) while Wyatt Shaw posted a season-best height of 2.03 meters (6-8).
 
Army closed the field events by winning the shot put and triple jump.