ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's and women's cross country teams head into postseason competition on Saturday with action at the 2023 Patriot League Championship. Hosted by Colgate University at the Harry H. Lang Cross Country Course, the women will be first to the line as their 6K race is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. before the men look to traverse an 8K course at 11:30 a.m.
Live results will be provided for both races.
10:30 AM – Women's Race
Six-time Patriot League Champions, the Navy women's cross country team will look to defend their 2022 title on Saturday morning. Outright champions in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2021 and 2022, as well as co-champs in 2007, the Mids are almost always amongst the contenders with only one non-top-four finish since 2003. Over the past seven Patriot League meets in which they competed, the Mids have placed second in 2015, fourth in 2016, third in 2017, third in 2018, fourth in 2019, and first in 2021 and 2022.
Last season, Navy women's cross country placed nine runners in the top 20, including individual medalist Emily Boutin, to post a team score of 38 to win to its second consecutive Patriot League Championship title. The Midshipmen's top five all finished in the top 11.
Navy claimed the team title, finishing with 38 total points. Army was second with 57 total points, while Boston University took third with 70 points. Lehigh came in fourth (101 points) with meet host Bucknell (110) rounding out the top five.
Individually, Boutin led the way, finishing first in the 6K race with a time of 20:36.8, while Ellie Abraham finished seventh overall with a time of 21:20.1. Sophie Compton, Elizabeth Sullivan, and Mia-Claire Kezal rounded out Navy's top five, coming in ninth, 10th, and 11th, respectively. Carolyn Thurlby took 16th ahead of Alanna Julius who finished 17th. Senior team captain Winter Boese crossed the finish line in 18th with fellow senior Emily Ettrich taking 20th.
For her efforts, Boutin was named the Patriot League Runner of the Year, while Lewnes was tabbed the Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. Abraham joined Boutin with first-team all-conference distinction, while Compton, Sullivan, Kezal each earned second-team honors.
11:30 AM – Men's Race
Competing in their 20th Patriot League Championship in program history, the Mids bring a winning pedigree into Saturday's race. In the 10 years between 2008 and 2017, Navy won eight league titles with a pair of runner-up results in 2012 and 2017. All-time, the Mids have 10 league titles and seven second-place results, along with one third and one fourth-place outcome.
The Navy men's cross country team won its second consecutive Patriot League Cross Country Championship in 2022. The Midshipmen had four runners in the finish in the top six to lead the way to the victory.
Navy tallied 32 total points on the day to finish ahead of rival Army, who came in second with 50 points. Boston University was third with 68 points. Meet host Bucknell (127) was fourth with American (133) rounding out the top five in the conference standings.
Individually,
Sam Keeny led the way for the Midshipmen. The junior battled back and forth for the top spot, ultimately finishing in second place with a time of 24:35.1. He was immediately followed by teammates
Alex Rizzo and
Brett Brady who claimed third and fourth, respectively. Rizzo clocked a time of 24:44.2 to finish just ahead of Brady's time of 24:46.0.
Garrison Clark posted a time of 24:58.3 to finish sixth overall.
Mitchell Rome rounded out the top five for the Midshipmen with a 17th-place finish with a time of 25:18.3.
Murphy Smith followed with a time of 25:21.7 to take 19th, while
Luke Nester completed the Mids' top 7, taking 23rd with a time of 25:28.7.
For their efforts, Keeny (second place), Rizzo (third), Brady (fourth), and Clark (sixth) were named First Team All-Patriot League, while head coach
Aaron Lanzel was tabbed the Patriot League Men's Coach of the Year.
Up Next
Following Saturday's championship race, both Navy teams will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, hosted at Lehigh on Friday, Nov. 10.
