Cross Country Begins 2024 Season at Salisbury Fall Classic - Naval Academy Athletics (2024)

Women's Cross Country 8/30/2024 12:57:00 PM

The women compete at 9:45 a.m., while the men’s race is slated for 10:30 a.m.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy cross country teams open the 2024 season at the Salisbury Fall Classic at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md. Competition begins at 9:45 a.m. with the women's 6K, while the men's 8K will follow at 10:30 a.m. Live results will be available.

Meet Participants
Navy, Salisbury, DeSales University (women only), Howard Community College, Johns Hopkins, Maryland (women only), Messiah College, and Seton Hall

Last Time at Salisbury Fall Classic (Sept. 3, 2022)
WOMEN: Navy opened the 2022 campaign with an impressive victory at the Salisbury Fall Classic. Five of the Midshipmen's top seven runners finished in the top 10 in the 6K meet, including freshman Sophie Compton who was the individual medalist. Navy claimed first place with a low score of 22 points.

Competing in her first collegiate competition, Compton took the gold with a first-place finish with a time of 22:52.5. Lauren Moore was a tenth of a second behind Compton for second (22:52.6). Kate Leddy, Katelyn Pepin, and Charlene Huang rounded out Navy's top five in fourth, sixth, and ninth, respectively.

MEN: The Midshipmen placed four runners in the top 10 with an additional competitor in the top 20 to tally 46 points to win the Salisbury Fall Classic. Freshman Justin Mumford paced the squad in the 8K meet with a fourth-place finish, while fellow rookie Jackson Nguyen took fifth. Matt Newell and Evan Prince finished eighth and ninth, respectively, while Travis Hockin rounded out the scoring in 20th.

Competing in his first college meet, Mumford clocked a time of 25:28.4 to lead the way for the Midshipmen. Nguyen was 16 seconds back in fifth (25:44.9). Newell's time of 25:58.9 was good enough for eighth, while Prince rounded out Navy's top-10 performers with a time of 26:07.9. Hockin's crossed the finish line with a time of 26:43.5 to finish 20th and round out the scoring for the Mids.

Season in Review – WOMEN
In head coach Kim Lewnes' fifth season at the helm, Navy finished third overall at the 2023 Patriot League Cross Country Championship which was hosted by Colgate at the Harry H. Lang Cross Country Course. Ellie Abraham was the top individual for the Midshipmen, crossing the finish line in fifth place in the 6K race.

With her fifth-place finish, Abraham earned First Team All-Patriot League honors. It was the third time in the senior's career that she earned all-conference honors and her second time notching first-team distinction. Additionally, Caroline Harding finished just out of the top 10, coming in 11th to earn the senior Second Team All-Patriot League recognition for the first time in her four-year career.

Navy concluded the 2023 season with a solid performance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Racing on the 6K Goodman Campus Cross Country Course at Lehigh, the Mids posted a 10th-place overall finish among the 27 teams that competed. Abraham led the Mids' effort as she crossed the finish line with a time of 21:12.7, which was her second-best 6K time of the season.

In the classroom, four cross country runners – Abraham, Emily Boutin, McKenna Brophy, and Harding – were among Navy's five women's cross country / track & field student-athletes named to the CSC Academic All-District team during the 2023-24 school year. From that foursome, Abraham and Brophy earned CSC Academic All-America honors with the duo both earning second-team nods.

Additionally, Abraham was selected to the eight-member Academic All-Patriot League women's squad, while the women's cross country team was recognized with the USTFCCCA All-Academic team award.

Season in Review – MEN
The 2023 season was highlighted by a dominant victory over Army, a Patriot League Championship, and postseason success.

Navy claimed the top four spots and placed seven runners in the top 10 to cruise to a 17-43 victory over Army at the West Point Golf Course in the annual Star Meet. Murphy Smith was the individual winner in the 8K race with Alexander Kirkland, Sam Keeny, and Luke Nester finishing in order second through fourth for the Midshipmen.

Behind a 1-2-3 finish from Smith, Keeny, and Kirkland, the Midshipmen won its third consecutive Patriot League Cross Country Championship in 2023. Navy tallied 37 total points to finish ahead of rival Army, who came in second with 50 points. Smith, who was the Rookie of the Meet in 2021, was the individual medalist, earning Patriot League Runner of the Meet honors with his first-place finish. Keeny was second overall, while Kirkland was third. The trio were all named First Team All-Patriot League. In addition, head coach Aaron Lanzel was named the Patriot League Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year.

Smith continued his tremendous junior season with a third-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship to qualify for the NCAA Championship, leading Navy to a fifth-place overall team finish. With his third-place finish, which was the highest by a Navy individual since Jake Brophy ('20) finished second at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Regional as a senior, Smith qualified for the NCAA Championship. Additionally, the fifth-place finish as a team is the highest for the Midshipmen under Lanzel and best since a second-place performance under then-head coach Al Cantello in 2017.

For their performances at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship, Smith and Kirkland were named USTFCCCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region.

In the classroom, Keeny and Joe Reimann were named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team. Keeny earned top honors on the team as he was selected as the 2023 Patriot League Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, giving Navy men's cross country three consecutive Scholar-Athletes of the Year (Brett Brady – '21, '22; Sam Keeny – '23). As a team, Navy was recognized with the USTFCCCA All-Academic team award.

Up Next
Following the Salisbury Fall Classic, the Midshipmen will host the Cantello Invitational at the USNA Cross Country Course on Saturday, Sept. 7. The meet opens with an open 5K at 9:00 a.m. before the women's 6K at 9:45 a.m. and the men's 4.9-mile run at 10:30 a.m. There will be a Bertha mile run at 11:00 a.m.