Dec. 5, 2009
Complete Results | Photo Gallery 
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's track team produced five IC4A-qualifying performances, two individual event victories and a total of nine top-three finishes in the non-scored, season-opening Navy Invitational meet on Saturday afternoon at the Wesley A. Brown Field House.
Senior Mark Van Orden took home top honors in the 35-lb. weight throw with a top IC4A-qualifying toss of 55-3 (16.84m). Sophomore Chris Ricks finished second overall behind Navy's indoor team captain with a 52-¾ (15.87m) effort. Sophomore Josh Houston was also an individual event winner, claiming the high jump on fewer misses after clearing 6-6½ (1.99m). Meanwhile in the long jump, freshman Miles Snelgrove placed third in his collegiate debut, recording a distance of 22-5 (6.83m).
Coppin State's Dale Dunn and Navy sophomore Matthew Evers both eclipsed the existing Wesley A. Brown Field House records in the 800-meter run, finishing 1-2 with times of 1:52.16 and 1:52.51, respectively. The time for Evers marked a new career-best, while junior David Ash was also an IC4A qualifier (one of five in the event) in the 800, taking fifth with a time of 1:54.49.
The Midshipmen had a strong showing in the relay events, producing a pair of IC4A marks. In the distance medley relay, the Navy foursome of Tyler Morrison (1,200), Travis Fanning (400), Branden Roy (800) and Matthew Lethbridge (1,600) took third behind teams from American (10:12.00) and Georgetown (10:12.85) with an IC4A-qualifying time of 10:13.99. Navy's quartet of Ash, Evers, Alex Jackson and Matthew Evers also surpassed the IC4A clip, clocking in at 3:19.64, good for a sixth-place finish overall.
The Midshipmen will be off during final exams and the semester break before returning to action on January 9 when they host Princeton in a dual meet, schedule for an 11:00 am start.
Top Navy Performers By Event
60 P.J. Picache 21st, 7.27
60 Hurdles Matthew Hanley 5th, 8.31
200 Adam Crawford 13th , 22.79
400 Keegan Ryan 7th, 50.53
800 Matthew Evers 2nd, 1:52.51*
David Ash 5th, 1:54.49*
Mile Aaron Foote 2nd, 4:20.21
3,000 Jeremy Haney 5th, 8:43.32
5,000 Richard Hoyt 2nd, 15:04.23
Weight Throw Mark Van Orden 1st, 55-3 (16.84m)*
Shot Put Jeffrey Steinmetz 3rd, 44-6 (13.58m)
High Jump Josh Houston 1st, 6-6½ (1.99m)
Long Jump Miles Snelgrove 3rd, 22-5 (6.83m)
Triple Jump Michael Foster 4th, 43-10½ (13.37m)
Pole Vault Paul Neidhardt T-4th, 14-3¼ (4.35m)
DMR Tyler Morrison, Travis Fanning 3rd, 10:13.99*
Branden Roy, Matthew Lethbridge
4x400 Alex Jackson, David Ash 6th, 3:19.64*
Lucas Connelly, Matthew Evers
4x800 Josh Shaw, Branden Roy 3rd, 7:59.27
Steven Anderson, Jacob Lethbridge
* Denotes IC4A-qualifying performance
Noteworthy:
* A pair of Wesley A. Brown Field House records were set in the 800 and 4x400 relay. Coppin State's Dale Dunn. Dunn ran a winning 600 time of 1:52.16 to top Tennessee's Joseph Franklin, who ran a 1:53.25 in the event at last year's Wesley A. Brown Invitational. Meanwhile, Georgetown's 4x400 team of Austin Perron, Theon O'Conner, Toby Ulm and Sean Suber ran a winning time of 3:14.27 to take down the pre-existing record of 3:15.97 established a year ago at this same Navy Invitational meet by Delaware State.
