CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - The Patriot League announced its 2019 Academic All-Patriot League Cross Country Teams on Wednesday with 14 combined recipients, seven for each of the male and female divisions. The Navy cross country program garnered four positions with Jake Brophy (Sr., New Hope, Pa.), Kevin Murray (Sr., Wilmington, Del.) and Luke Murphy (So., Tulsa, Okla.) representing the men's team and Maddie Warrender (So., Mount Wolf, Pa.), the women's squad. The quartet of standouts in competition and in the classroom is headlined by Brophy and Murray earning accolades in three straight years.

Brophy, the 2019 Patriot League Men's Cross Country Individual Champion, has been head and shoulders above his competition throughout his senior season as he finished in first place at both the Navy Invitational and Army-Navy Star Meets, in addition to crossing the finish line second at the Battle in Beantown and Paul Short Run. He continued his torrid pace with a dominant 18.0-second margin of victory on Saturday at the Patriot League Cross Country Championship in Hamilton, N.Y. with a time of 24:45.9. A member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District II First Team in 2018, Brophy has posted a 3.71 GPA as a computer science over his first six semesters in Annapolis.

Murray, the 2017 Patriot League Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year, once again was at the forefront of the scholar-athlete discussion this season with strong results both on the course and in the classroom. During his four regular season competitions, the senior mechanical engineering major placed second at both the Navy Invitational and Army-Navy Star meets, while finishing fourth at the Paul Short Run and 15th at the Battle in Beantown. At the 2019 Patriot League Championship, Murray turned in a time of 25:07.8 that ranked third overall. In his first three years of study at the Naval Academy, he has posted a 3.52 cumulative GPA.

The third male cross country runner to earn this prestigious accolade is sophomore Luke Murphy. A computer science major with an unblemished 4.00 GPA, Murphy rounded into top form for the Mids and became an important point scorer in competitions. Highlights from the regular season for the second-year runner, include a seventh-place finish at the Harry Lang Invite and an 11th place result at the Army-Navy Star Meet. Last Saturday, Murphy's hard work paid off with a 12th place finish at the 2019 Patriot League Championship and a spot on the All-Patriot League Second Team. In the field of 104 runners, he was the top-finishing sophomore.
 
This is the eighth time in program history that Navy has had multiple honorees on the All-Academic Patriot League Men's Cross Country Team. The award has been in existence since 2010. Brophy and Murray were part of Navy's only previous three-man group of recipients in 2017. Then-senior Josh Hanna joined the duo in that season's announcement.

The sixth Midshipmen in Navy women's cross country team history to earn a spot on the Academic All-Patriot League Team, Warrender is in esteemed company with Wednesday's announcement. A sophomore English major, Warrender raced four times for the Mids in the regular season before competing last Saturday at the Patriot League Championship. During the regular season she registered 10th place results at the Navy Invitational and in the open division at the Battle in Beantown contest to highlight her sophomore campaign. Racing at the 6k Harry Lang Cross Country Course in Hamilton, New York at the league championship meet, Warrender placed 37th overall in a field of 110 runners. In the classroom, she has posted a perfect 4.00 GPA over her first two full semesters at the Naval Academy.

All-time, Navy's six student-athletes have accounted for 11 nods as Brigid Byrne (2010-'11-'12), Annie-Norah Beveridge (2012-'13), Morgan O'Connor (2014-'15) and Erin McDonnell (2016-'18) were multi-year Academic All-Patriot League honorees.

To be eligible for the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and the Academic All-Patriot League Team, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and be a starter or key player in his/her sport. Freshmen or students in their first academic year at their school are not eligible for the honor.

The Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each individual sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards given out over the summer. One male and one female are selected for this honor.

Both Navy teams will continue postseason action next Friday, Nov. 15 with the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship in Bethlehem, Pa. on the campus of Lehigh University. The Mids will be racing for a spot in the 2019 NCAA Championship beginning at 11:00 a.m. when the women get the day going, the men will start one hour later at noon.
 
Patriot League Men's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Benjamin Petrella, Sr., Army West Point
Patriot League Women's Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Abigail Gugel, Sr., Boston Univ.
  
Men's 2019 Cross Country Academic All-Patriot League Team
Benjamin Petrella, Army West Point, Sr.
Drew Dorflinger, Bucknell, Sr.
Jake Stupak, Bucknell, Sr.
Seth Slavin, Lehigh, Jr.
Jake Brophy, Navy, Sr.
Luke Murphy, Navy, So.
Kevin Murray, Navy, Sr.
 
Women's 2019 Cross Country Academic All-Patriot League Team
Mika Andrews, Army West Point, Jr.
Abigail Gugel, Boston University, Sr.
Jenna Gasparrini, Holy Cross, Sr.
Allison McArdle, Holy Cross, Sr.
Diana Hammerstone, Lehigh, Sr.
Susie Poore, Lehigh, Jr.
Maddie Warrender, Navy, So.