ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Having to wait a few extra weeks to kick off its 2020 campaign had little effect on the Navy Men's Cross Country team as the Mids turned in a strong effort to defeat the Pitt Panthers by a score of 23-37 at the USNA Cross Country Course. Led by team captain
Julian Perez' first place result, Navy runners captured six of the top-eight finishes on Friday in the 8k race versus Pitt.
Perez (Sr., Beaumont, Texas) was dominant for the Mids as he cruised to a 17.45-second victory over Pitt's Marc Migliozzi, 24:01.53 to 24:18.98. In a tight battle for third place the Panthers' Zach Lefever edged the Mids'
Grant Van Valkenburg (Jr., Duvall, Wash.) by a little over a second, 24:32.53 to 24:33.87.
Luke Murphy (Jr., Tulsa, Okla.) rounded out the top-five with a time of 24:35.33.
Murphy was the first of four straight Navy runners to cross the finish line as
Miguel Mathias (Jr., Nekoosa, Wisc.),
Garrison Clark (So., Severna Park, Md.) and
Alex Rizzo (So., Bronxville, N.Y.) posted the sixth (24:40.86), seventh (24:46.98) and eighth-best times (24:48.82) of the competition.
Ashwin Briggs (Pickerington, Ohio) was the seventh Mid to finish as the junior placed tenth at 24:54.65. His classmate
David Nelsen (Chandler, Ariz.) was 1.1 seconds back in 11th at 24:55.75.
"I couldn't be happier to have an opportunity for these men to compete today," remarked head coach
Aaron Lanzel. "They have continued to grind out tough efforts to prepare without any assurance other schools could even compete. They didn't waste the opportunity. Julian has stepped up to lead the team in great fashion. The core of the team is also strong with Grant, Luke and Miguel having good runs today and a whole slew of their own close behind. It was also exciting to have four freshmen jump into the race and show they are very much ready for college competition."
Navy will be back in action on its home course in two weeks when the Mids go head-to-head with the Army Black Knights in the 2020 Star Meet. The race which is part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA is set for an 11 a.m. start.
