ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's cross country team was up against a stiff task on Saturday with its annual head-to-head showdown versus Army. The 2018 Star Meet at the USNA Cross Country Course saw the visiting Black Knights use an experienced lineup and strong pack-running techniques to secure the 24-34 win. The junior duo of Jake Brophy (New Hope, Pa.) and Kevin Murray (Wilmington, Del.) turned in second and third-place results for the Midshipmen.
 
Entering Saturday's race with five upperclassmen and four more sophomores, Army totaled 24 team points with Roman Ollar leading the way with the individual title at 23:58.98.
 
Brophy and Murray took the lead for Navy's efforts in the 8K race as the pair of All-Patriot League talents finished the course within 0.7 seconds of each other as Brophy clocked in second at 24:06.77 and Murray in third at 24:07.40. Both times ranked in the top-25 all-time for the USNA 8K Course record book. Amongst all competitors ever, Brophy's time was 22nd fastest, while Murray's was 25th. When considering times by Navy runners only, Brophy stands 10th and Murray 11th, respectively.
 
Army obtained a significant points advantage after Brophy and Murray with a Black Knight runner finishing in five of the next six positions. Team captain Michael Karls (Sr., Festus, Mo.) broke up the string of Black Knights in spots four through nine with the seventh-best time of 25:06.03. That 6-3 margin of runners in the top-nine served as downfall for the Mids on Saturday.
 
Sophomore Julian Perez (Beaumont, Texas) was Navy's fourth finisher with a time of 25:20.19, good for 10th overall.
 
In his first Army-Navy Star Meet, Ashwin Briggs (Pickerington, Ohio) came in 12th place at 25:33.84 to close out the Mids' scoring lineup with 34 team points.
 
On Saturday, Navy's 12-man lineup consisted of one senior, two juniors, three sophomores and six freshmen.
 
"Our guys knew that a win would come in only a few scenarios today," remarked head coach Aaron Lanzel. "Jake and Kevin set up the race as they needed to, but in the end, Army kept enough runners together to hold off our younger talent. The six freshmen, who ran today can only be chained up for so long before they break free. They have the right mentality as competitors after today's loss. We will learn from today and continue improving."
 
Navy is 49-31-1 all-time in Star Meet competitions versus Army. 
 
The Mids will head into postseason racing in two weeks at the Patriot League Championship on Saturday, October 27 in Lewisburg, Pa.
 
Saturday's meet was part of the year-long Star Series presented by USAA. Through seven fall competitions, Army holds a slim 4-3 advantage over Navy.