Jan. 17, 2009

Complete Results | Photo Gallery

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Led by the junior distance duo of Amy Watson (Hampstead, Md.) and Lexa Gass (Crescent, Pa.), the Navy women's track and field team kept its perfect dual-meet record intact with six victories in Saturday's seven-team home meet at the Wesley A. Brown Field House.

With the six wins, the Midshipmen women improve to 10-0 in dual-scored competitions on the year. Dating back to the 2004-05 season, Navy has now won 38 consecutive indoor dual-scored affairs and 71 of its last 72 overall (both indoor and outdoor).

"We were very pleased with today's results," said Navy head coach Carla Criste. "It was a great opportunity for us to compete against some strong competition as we ramp up for the Army meet (Feb. 7) and next month's league championship (Feb. 20-22). I thought we had a very balanced effort and while we still have some work to do, I am thrilled with the direction this team is headed."

Watson led from wire-to-wire in capturing the 3,000-meter event with a time of 9:59.63, while Gass paced the field in the 5,000, highlighting Navy's 1-2-3 finish in the meet-opening event with a 17:53.52 clocking. Watson shaved exactly 15 seconds off her winning 3k time at last weekend's Delaware Invite and now has a team-best four victories on the season.

Senior Carey Young (Virginia Beach, Va.), who joined the track squad after completing a stellar four-year career as a defender on the Academy's women's soccer team, was next to cross the finish line behind Watson, earning runner-up honors in the 3k race in 10:23.16.

Meanwhile, in the 5k race, junior Erica Ziel (Saginaw, Mich.) and freshman Marina McGrail (Manchester, Vt.) rounded out a Navy sweep, taking second and third place with times of 17:55.35 and 17:56.87, respectively.

"I thought we really set the tone for today's meet with Lexa's win and our 1-2-3 punch in the 5,000," added Criste. "A lot of our younger athletes stepped up today and really performed well for us and I think that was the difference in the end."

Navy also received solid contributions once again from a slew of underclassmen. In the mile-run, sophomore Katie Rentz (San Diego, Calif.) issued an impressive performance, finishing second overall with a 5:05.35 clocking.

Rookie standout Ashley Aitken (Yuma, Ariz.) also turned in a runner-up effort, running 9.19 in the 60-meter hurdles, while classmate Jess Palacio (Sun Valley, Nev.) took fourth place with a season-best time of 2:17.72 against a competitive field in the 800-meter race.

The Midshipmen women return to action on Saturday, January 31 at George Mason's annual Patriot Games meet in Fairfax, Va.

Dual ScoresNavy 99, William & Mary 53Navy 98, James Madison 63Navy 106, Mount St. Mary's 55Navy 100, Maryland Eastern-Shore 53Navy 88, UNC-Wilmington 72Navy 97.5, VCU 59.5

### GO NAVY ###