Oct. 31, 2015 Complete Results
HAMILTON, N.Y. - The Navy men's cross country team dominated at the Patriot League Championship, recording four of the top-five finishers for its third-straight league title on Saturday at Colgate's Harry Lang Course. Junior Lucas Stalnaker (Tega Cay, S.C.) joined teammate Steve Schroeder (Monticello, Ill.) as the second Midshipmen to win the league's individual title in as many seasons.
"Our plan heading into the race was the same as any other race, which was to stick together and work as a unit," Navy team captain Sam Peckham said on winning their third consecutive title. "We were with the majority of the field in the first mile and then after that our top five runners packed together and separated ourselves from everyone else to grab the victory."
Navy finished the race with 19 team points to record the lowest score at a league championship race since American tallied 19 in 2004. With the first-place finish, Navy recorded its seventh overall league title to tie Army West Point for the most in league history. The Mids tallied four All-Patriot League First team finishers and three all-league second team runners.
Stalnaker's time 25:00.2 earned him the 2015 Patriot League Runner of the Meet. Stalnaker recorded his fourth overall individual title and has led the Mids in all five races he has competed in this season. Schroeder, who looked to defend his league title, finished 0:00.3 seconds behind Stalnaker for second place with a time of 25:00.5.
Junior Hale Bullen (Annapolis, Md,) and Peckham finished right behind teammates Stalnaker and Schroeder, clocking times of 25:01.5 and 25:02.0, respectively, for third and fourth place. Peckham (Valencia, Calif.) became the third Midshipmen in program history to record three all-league finishes.
"Being able to stay consistent throughout my career has helped myself and the team keep up this type of success," said Peckham. "It is my part of the team captain to stay consistent and bestow upon my teammates that mindset to keep everyone together throughout the race."
Senior Justin Maguire, sophomore Cory Donley and junior Mitchell Pratt rounded out Navy's top seven runners with all-league finishes of ninth, 12th and 13th, respectively. Maguire led the group, crossing the tape at 25:20.7. Donley and Pratt followed with marks of 25:24.0 and 25:24.8.
After Navy finished with 19 points, Boston University placed second with 88 points. Army West Point (91), Lehigh (95) and American (103) rounded out the top five. Bucknell (133), Holy Cross (235), Lafayette (250), Colgate (257) and Loyola (274) completed the field of 10 teams.
Navy will have an extra week to prepare for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, which is hosted by Princeton, on Friday, Nov. 13.
