Oct. 14, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's cross country team will host Army in the annual Star Meet on Saturday at the cross country course at the USNA Golf Club. The dual meet will begin at 11 a.m.
Parking for Saturday's race will be available off Greenbury Point Rd. at the golf course. There will be attendants on hand directing spectator parking.
The Rivalry
• The Midshipmen have captured 10 of the last 13 Stars and are 44-28-1 (.618) all-time against Army. In his 43 seasons, coach Al Cantello has 31 career Star Meet victories.
• Last season, the Mids defeated the Black Knights, 19-41, in West Point.
• So far this season, Navy's overall record is 2-2 against Army. The Midshipmen defeated the Black Knights in men's soccer and golf.
• Navy leads the all-time series across all sports, 919-698-39 (.567). In competition over the past 15 years, Navy leads 274-158-6 (.632).
Quoting the Coach
Coach Al Cantello's take on this weekend's dual with Army...
"If you're in the mood for a classic fall 'brouhaha,' get there early. You'll see one of Navy's finest pure distance runners of the past decade, Andrew Hanko, run his farewell cross country race"
The Last Time Out: The Paul Short Run
Led by Andrew Hanko's seventh-place finish, the Navy men's cross country team placed 11th out of 42 teams at the Paul Short Run at Lehigh University on Oct. 1. Hanko navigated the 8k course in 24:03.
The second Mid to cross the finish line was junior Cody Rome, who placed 38th with a time of 24:45. Sophomore Dean Black was Navy's third finisher with a time of 25:02 (76th place) and junior James Pearson placed 104th at 25:12. Junior Jeremy Haney rounded out the team scoring for Navy, by coming in 131st place (25:23).
The highly-competitive meet featured some of the best teams in the nation as 27 of the 42 teams in the meet were ranked in the top 15 in one of the nine United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional polls. The run also included four teams ranked in the nation's top-25 in Iona, Virginia, Princeton and Georgetown.
Army also competed in the Paul Short Run and took 33rd place.
Navy and the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings
Navy is currently ranked fifth in the most recent USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic region poll, released on Oct. 11. Princeton, Georgetown, Penn State and Villanova are ranked first through fourth, respectively, in the region.
Navy is the highest ranked Patriot League team in the region as American is eighth and Lehigh is 13th. The Mids began the season ranked fifth in the regional poll and were picked by the Patriot League coaches and SIDs to win the conference crown.
Hanko Continues to Lead
After the Mids' last meet, the Paul Short Run, senior Andrew Hanko was named Patriot League Runner of the Week for the fourth consecutive week. In a prestigious meet that featured four nationally ranked teams, Hanko placed seventh out of 387 runners with a time of 24:03.
Hanko has placed in the top 10 in each of the four meets in which he has competed this season. In his last 11 meets dating back to last season, Hanko has been in the top 10 on seven occasions.
For his career, Hanko now has a conference-best nine Patriot League Runner of the Week awards.
Up Next
This week's dual will serve as the final tuneup for the Midshipmen prior to Patriot League Championships on Oct. 30 in Easton, Pa.
