BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Junior Murphy Smith continued his tremendous cross country season with a third-place finish on Friday at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Hosted by Lehigh University and run over the 10K Goodman Campus Cross Country Course, Navy finished fifth as a team among the 26 teams that competed. With his third-place finish, Smith qualified for the NCAA Championship next weekend in Charlottesville, Va.
 
Smith's third-place finish was the highest by a Navy individual since Jake Brophy ('20) finished second at the 2019 Mid-Atlantic Regional as a senior. Additionally, the fifth-place finish as a team is the highest for the Midshipmen under head coach Aaron Lanzel and best since a second-place performance under then-head coach Al Cantello in 2017.
 
"I would say this was an exceptional day for Murphy, but he has been so well prepared and consistent at this high level through the season, it was no surprise to see him with the best at the front," Lanzel stated. "He is exceptional and did what is now normal for him. Now, he is a national qualifier to run with the best next week where he belongs."
 
The Midshipmen placed its top five runners in the top 45 with all seven competitors crossing the finish line in the top half of the meet. As a team, the Mids averaged 30:17.4 among their top five with 1:29.4 separating the top five Navy runners.
 
Smith clocked a 10K time of 29:22.7 to finish third overall among the 183 runners who finished the race. He was 28th through the first checkpoint, but moved up to seventh through the second marker. The junior was second overall through 7200m, but slid to third at the 8K checkpoint. The top three individual positions held over the final 2000m with Smith earning the automatic bid as an individual.
 
Fellow junior Alexander Kirkland finished 15th overall with a time of 29:50.2. Kirkland rose as high as 12th in the standings, while coming in as low as 22nd at one checkpoint before securing the 15th spot.
 
"Alexander also has a chance for an individual qualifier depending on how the at-large selections work out tomorrow," Lanzel added. "Another noteworthy race for him. He was in the background getting the work done last year as an unknown and now he is worthy of national consideration. He's been doing it consistently all season as well."
 
Senior team captain Sam Keeny crossed the finish line with a time of 30:30.5 to finish 30th overall, while sophomore Justin Mumford (30:51.1) and junior Luke Nester (30:52.1) completed the 10K race back-to-back with 42nd- and 43rd-place performances, respectively, to round out the top five for Navy.
 
Junior Ben Countiss was 55th overall with a time of 31:06.8, while sophomore Jackson Nguyen closed out the meet for the Midshipmen with an 82nd-place finish with a time of 31:41.4.
 
"As a team, we have had a good season, and today we ran a good race, although the men were risking a little today to try and make it great one," said Lanzel. "Sam, Luke, Justin, Ben and Jackson were aggressive and really put themselves in the right spots through the whole first half of the race to try and punch to the top two auto qualifying spots as a team for the national championship. Everything needed to align for a great day, but our young team had to accept good this round with a great outlook for the seasons and years to come."
 
No. 16 Princeton was the overall winner with a low score of 41, while No. 11 Villanova had the top two individual finishers to finish second overall and claim the second automatic team bid into the NCAA Championship with a score of 73. Georgetown, who was receiving votes in the latest collegiate poll, was third with 77 points while Penn State was fourth with 122 points. Navy rounded out the top five with 133 points as a team.
 
The Mids were sixth through the one-mile checkpoint, but moved up to fourth at the 2250m mark. The Midshipmen held strong at fourth through 7200m and again at the 8K checkpoint. However, Penn State was able to overtake the fourth spot as a team in the final 2K.
 
Smith will now represent the Midshipmen at the NCAA Cross Country Championship on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Panorama Farms in Charlottesville, Va. The race is set for 10:00 a.m. Live coverage on ESPNU as well as live results will be available.
 
Navy Top 7
3. Murphy Smith – 29:22.7
15. Alexander Kirkland – 29:50.2
30. Sam Keeny – 30:30.5
42. Justin Mumford – 30:51.1
43. Luke Nester – 30:52.1
55. Ben Countiss – 31:06.8
82. Jackson Nguyen – 31:41.4