ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Murphy Smith continues his stellar junior campaign this Saturday with action at the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championship at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. The NCAA meet will be broadcast live on ESPNU with a pre-race show beginning at 9:30 a.m. The women's 6K will start at 10:20 a.m. followed by Smith running in the men's 10K at 11:10 a.m. Awards will be streamed live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app beginning at 12 p.m.
Smith qualified for the NCAA Championship with a third-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Hosted by Lehigh University and run over the 10K Goodman Campus Cross Country Course, Smith helped Navy finish fifth as a team among the 26 teams that competed.
His 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. For his efforts, Smith was named All-Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
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.
This season, Smith has been Navy's top finisher in five of the six races he competed in, coming in second among Midshipmen runners at the Virginia Invitational at Panorama Farms.
Tickets – SOLD OUT
Tickets to the 2023 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday are sold out. Approximately 5,000 fans are expected to attend the event at Panorama Farms in Earlysville, Va. and no further tickets will be sold including on the day of the event. Fans ages two years and older require a ticket. No pets will be allowed at Panorama Farms for the NCAA Championships.
For fans fortunate enough to get tickets, there is no onsite parking at Panorama Farms for the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Parking is only available by shuttle, and ticket holders are advised to arrive early in anticipation of the high expected attendance.
The shuttle loading location is at Fashion Square Mall (1535 E Rio Rd., Charlottesville, Va.) in front of the Red Robin restaurant. Carpooling to Fashion Square Mall is encouraged.
Shuttle departures will be at 6:45 a.m., 7:25 a.m., 8:05 a.m., 8:45 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The first race at Panorama Farms begins at 10:20 a.m. Returning shuttles will begin at 12 p.m. and run until 1:30 p.m.
