SALISBURY, Md. – The Navy men's cross country team got its 2018 season underway on Saturday morning with a strong effort at the Salisbury Fall Classic. Hosted by Salisbury University and run on Winter Place Park's 8K course, the Mids trotted out a young lineup and finished second of seven teams at the kickoff event. Freshman Ashwin Briggs (Pickerington, Ohio) led Navy's lineup with a fourth place finish in a field of 80 competitors.
 
"Today our young runners got a firehouse of experience; some learned the hard way that last minute kicks have little effect in a five-mile race," remarked head coach Aaron Lanzel. "Ashwin ran tough today against some experienced runners at the front of the field, while a few others discovered that they can go the distance. All of our runners now know what it takes to be a competitor at Navy!"
 
Saturday marked the first collegiate competition for Lanzel as a head coach and 10 other Midshipmen freshman athletes. Briggs made his debut in memorable fashion as he was the top-finishing freshman in field with a time of 26:16.70, that ranked fourth overall in the field. He was bested in the standings by a junior, Rowan's Matt Russo (1^st-25:47.26) and two seniors, Salisbury's Conner Masteran (2^nd-25:48.77) and Rowan's Dan Henry (3^rd-25:53.47).
 
A trio of Midshipmen took positions seventh through ninth in the race as Mason Reeves (Fr., Ripon, Calif.), David Nelsen (Fr., Chandler, Ariz.) and Nick Rischar (Fr., Davie, Fla.) came in tightly packed with respective times of 26:48.16, 26:48.59 and 26:50.96.
 
Navy's fifth team scoring effort came from Luke Murphy (Fr., Tulsa, Okla.), who clocked in with a time of 27:14.19, good for 15^thplace.
 
Grant Van Valkenburg (Fr., Duvall, Wash.) and Elliott Schultz (Fr., Charlotte, N.C.) were the Mids' sixth and seventh finishers as they came in back-to-back in 17^thand 18^thplace with times of 27:29.07 and 27:34.75, respectively. 
 
Luke Lanham (Sr., Southlake, Texas) and Alex Schuerch (Fr., Anchorage, Alaska) gave Navy nine runners in the top-25 when Lanahm crossed the line in 21^stplace at 27:50.23 before Schuerch came in less than five seconds later in 23^rdat 23:55.06.
 
In the team standings, Rowan placed with 35 points, four ahead of the second-place Navy squad. Salisbury finished third with 55 points. Shenandoah (129), Delaware Tech (154), St. Mary's (165) and Wesley (200) rounded out the field.
 
Navy will continue early season action next Friday evening with racing at the Penn State Invitational.