SALISBURY, Md. – The Navy men's cross country team placed four runners in the top 10 with an additional competitor in the top 20 to tally 46 points to win the Salisbury Fall Classic at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md. on Saturday morning. Freshman
Justin Mumford (New Baden, Ill.) paced the squad in the 8K meet with a fourth-place finish, while fellow rookie
Jackson Nguyen (Huntsville, Ala.) took fifth.
Matt Newell (Columbus, Ind.) and
Evan Prince (Rabun Gap, Ga.) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, while Travis Hockin rounded out the scoring in 20th.
"I think we got to see some intriguing potential at an early, if not premature stage of the season," head coach
Aaron Lanzel said after the meet. "The freshmen were given the scoring positions today to see what they could do in their transition to racing two miles more than they did in high school with the college 8k/5 miles."
"Justin outperformed our current expectations along with Jackson. They raced smart and weren't intimidated by the new distance. Matthew and Evan also gave some notice for what they can do. Everyone is all over the place with setbacks and varying ability to train over the summer, so I'm very pleased to see things come together well today for the team."
Navy claimed first place with a low score of 46 points. Rowan was second with 53 points, while Messiah was third with 76. Meet host Salisbury came in fourth (83 points), while Kutztown (101), Shenandoah (190), and Gallaudet (225) rounded out the team scoring.
Competing in his first college meet, Mumford clocked a time of 25:28.4 to lead the way for the Midshipmen. Nguyen was 16 seconds back in fifth with a time of 25:44.9. Newell's time of 25:58.9 was good enough for eighth, while Prince rounded out Navy's top-10 performers with a time of 26:07.9. Hockin's crossed the finish line with a time of 26:43.5 to finish 20th and round out the scoring for the Mids.
Andre Faigal (Hainesport, N.J.) and
Alex Dachos (King George, Va.) finished 21st (26:49.4) and 31st (27:21.5) to close out Navy's top seven competitors.
Navy returns to action next Friday, as the Midshipmen head to University Park, Pa. to take part in the Penn State Spiked Shoe Invitational.
Team Scores
1. Navy – 46 points
2. Rowan – 53
3. Messiah – 76
4. Salisbury – 83
5. Kutztown – 101
6. Shenandoah – 190
7. Gallaudet – 225
Navy Top 7
4.
Justin Mumford – 25:28.4
5.
Jackson Nguyen – 25:44.9
8. Matthew Newell – 25:58.9
9.
Evan Prince – 26:07.9
20. Travis Hockin – 26:43.5
21.
Andre Faigal – 26:49.4
31.
Alex Dachos – 27:21.5
Team Score (places): 46 | Team Score (times): 2:10:03.4 | Average Time: 26:00.7
