ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's cross country team placed seven runners in the top 10 in the 4.9-mile race at the Navy Invitational at the USNA Cross Country Course on Friday evening.
Alex Rizzo (Bronxville, N.Y.) was the individual medalist with a score of 23:47.1, edging teammate
Sam Keeny (Annapolis, Md.) by less than two seconds (23:49.5).
"We had a fantastic turnout tonight with a full field of teams and spectators," head coach
Aaron Lanzel said. "Our runners seized the opportunity to make it a good night. It is still early in the season, and they ran a bit better than I wanted them too, but I'm content this is the kind of criticism we have right now."
Navy claimed the team title with a low team score of 21, besting second-place George Mason (56 points) by 35 total points. Richmond was third with 99 points, while UMBC (106) and George Washington (110) rounded out the top five. Rowan (166), Loyola (195), McDaniel (252), Howard (255), and Hagerstown CC closed out the scoring.
"Alex certainly got a very nice win, making several strong moves and coming back one last time in the home stretch to hold off another great runner in
Sam Keeny," Lanzel added. "Both of them had some of the fastest times we have seen on this course. Brett, Garrison and Murphy were just solid all around and I'm sure they will have even better days ahead. To cap off those five we had big jumps coming from
Jack Rooney,
Alexander Kirkland, and
Ryan O'Dea, some new names in the top who we will certainly hear more from.
Rizzo and Keeny paced the squad, but the Midshipmen finished with all seven principal performers finishing in the top 10. Competing in his first race of the season, senior team captain
Brett Brady (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished fourth with a time of 23:55.5.
Garrison Clark (Severna Park, Md.) came in sixth with a time 23:58.3. Navy's fifth runner
Jack Rooney (Raleigh, N.C.) crossed the finish line with a time of 24:15.2 to take eighth overall.
Murphy Smith (Charlotte, N.C.) and
Alexander Kirkland (Bel Air, Md.) rounded out the Mids' top seven finishers, coming in ninth (24:19.8) and 10th (24:27.3), respectively.
Ryan O'Dea (Louisville, Ky.) was outside of Navy's top seven, but finished 11th overall with a time of 24:37.8.
In addition to the men's 4.9-mile run, there was an open 5K. Freshman
Justin Mumford (New Baden, Ill.) finished second overall with a time of 16:09.0.
Jackson Nguyen (Huntsville, Ala.) and
Matt Newell (Columbus, Ind.) finished third and fourth in the 5K race.
"Justin ran another solid race in the 5k which was notably consistent for a freshman," Lanzel stated.
Navy returns to action on Friday, Sept. 30 as the Midshipmen travel to South Bend, Ind. for the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame.
Team Results
1. Navy – 21 points
2. George Mason – 56
3. Richmond – 99
4. UMBC – 106
5. George Washington – 110
6. Rowan – 166
7. Loyola – 195
8. McDaniel – 252
9. Howard – 255
10. Hagerstown CC – 290
Navy Top 7
1.
Alex Rizzo – 23:47.1
2.
Sam Keeny – 23:49.5
4.
Brett Brady – 23:55.5
6.
Garrison Clark – 23:58.3
8.
Jack Rooney – 24:15.2
9.
Murphy Smith – 24:19.8
10.
Alexander Kirkland – 24:27.3
