ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's and women's cross country programs are back in postseason action this Friday with the running of the 2023 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., the women will be first on the 6K Goodman Campus Cross Country Course on Friday as the Mids are one of 31 teams in the 12:00 p.m. race. One hour later at 1:00 p.m., the men will be competing amongst a field of 29 teams in a 10K race.
 
Both programs will be focused on securing one of the top-two qualifying positions in the national NCAA Championship meet on Saturday, November 18 in Charlottesville, Va.
 
Should a team not nab one of the two automatic bids, there are also a limited number of at-large team selections and at-large individual selections that are determined following meets from across the NCAA Division I landscape. The top-four individuals from each regional not on a qualifying team are automatically are selected, while any other finisher in the top-25 is placed into the at-large national pool as a potential at-large individual.
 
Admission
Admission fee for adults is $10 and $5 for children and students. Spectator Parking Fee is $10. All will be collected at the parking booths upon arrival to the parking lots. Cash and credit cards will be accepted. There will be no advance sales for this event.
 
Mid-Atlantic Women's Regional Championship (12:00 p.m.)
This will be the 23rd time that the Mids have competed at the NCAA Regional Meet since 2000. The team's best finish during that span was a fifth-place finish in 2000, while placing seventh at the 2008, 2011, 2012, 2021, and 2022 events.
 
Last season, powered by an 11th-place finish by junior Emily Boutin, the Navy women's cross country team registered a seventh-place team finish at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional at the Penn State Cross Country Course in University Park, Pa., tying for the best finish for the Midshipmen over the past 15 years (2008, '11, '12, '21).
 
Last Five Mid-Atlantic Regionals
2017: 12th of 28
2018: 16th of 30
2019: 12th of 31
2021: 7th of 27
2022: 7th of 26
 
Mid-Atlantic Men's Regional Championship (1:00 p.m.)
Navy is in search of its 13th bid to the NCAA Championships as a team after finishing seventh at the 2022 Mid-Atlantic Regional.
 
The Navy men's cross country team wrapped up its 2022 season with a solid effort at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship at Penn State University. Competing on a 10k circuit at the Penn State Cross Country Course in University Park, Pa., the Mids had a stout five-man pack to the finish line that was separated from first to fifth by 35.9 seconds. After all 26 teams and 180 runners had crossed the finish line, Navy placed five runners in the top-51 and compiled 212 team points to rank seventh overall. Garrison Clark led the Mids' individual effort as he placed in 30th position.
 
Last Five Mid-Atlantic Regionals
2017: 2nd of 26
2018: 8th of 24
2019: 8th of 25
2021: 8th of 26
2022: 7th of 26
 
Last Time at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course (Sept. 30, 2023)
WOMEN – 9th of 44 teams at Paul Short Run (6K)
The Navy women's cross country team notched a ninth-place finish in the Women's College Gold 6K race at the Paul Short Run at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course on the strength of a third-place individual finish by team captain Emily Boutin. The senior trimmed nearly 35 seconds off of her season-best 6K time to clock a 20:15.8 to come in third.
 
As a team, Navy finished ninth among the 44 teams competing, while finishing ahead of three Patriot League schools in the competition – Army (10th), Bucknell (23rd), and meet host Lehigh (28th). Nationally-ranked Utah Valley finished first overall with a team-low 77 points, while Wake Forest notched 129 points as a team. Boston University (176), Penn State (182), and Quinnipiac (257) rounded out the top five. Georgia Tech, Belmont, and West Virginia – who is receiving votes in the national polls – finished just head of the Midshipmen with scores of 282, 283, and 337, respectively.
 
From start to finish, Boutin was in the top 10 throughout the race, which featured 393 individual finishers. Through the first mile, she was in seventh place. At the second checkpoint, Boutin moved up three spots into fourth place and closed out the race in third.
 
Ellie Abraham was second among Midshipmen with a 39th-place finish, crossing the finish line with a time of 21:15.2. Caroline Harding continued her strong senior campaign with a time of 21:26.6 to come in third among the Navy runners. Sophie Compton (21:56.7) and McKenna Brophy (21:58.8) were fourth and fifth for the Midshipmen, while Alex Wercinski (22:01.3) and Olivia Lutkevich (22:22.7) rounded out Navy's top seven. Mia-Claire Kezal (22:30.2), Sarah Colebrooke (22:36.9), and Samantha Woodworth (23:00.2) also competed in the Women's College Gold 6K.
 
MEN – 6th of 43 teams at Paul Short Run (8K)
Led by junior Murphy Smith's second-place individual finish, the Navy men's cross country team posted a sixth-place team finish at the prestigious Paul Short Run in the Men's College Gold 8K race at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Pa.
 
The Midshipmen finished sixth among the 43-team field with 203 total points, but bested the other five Patriot League opponents – American, Army, Boston University, Bucknell, and meet host Lehigh. Yale registered a team-low 101 points to finish first, while Wingate took second with 123 points. Stony Brook (159), Liberty (190), and Penn State (203) rounded out the top five.
 
Smith posted a time of 23:59.3, which was his top 8K time of the season, to finished second in the field of 392 runners who finished the race. The junior was in 47th through the first mile, but moved into the top five – fourth – through 5K of the race. At the 6.3K marker, Smith moved up one spot into third, before his final push to take second place. He finished just under six seconds back of individual medalist Evan Dorenkamp (23:53.7) of Penn State.
 
Smith was joined in the top 15 by fellow junior Alexander Kirkland, who notched a time of 24:18.7 to finish in 14th overall. Justin Mumford was third among the Navy runners with a time of 24:37.8 to finish 38th with Luke Nester crossing the finish line with a time of 24:46.5 to take 58th. Ben Countiss followed with a time of 25:01.9 to finish in the top 100 (93rd place / 91st-place points), while Jackson Nguyen (25:06.2) and Max Girardet (25:28.4) rounding out the Mids' top seven. Sam Moultrie (25:36.6), Sam Keeny (25:42.1) and Owen Ahten (26:05.0) also competed in the Men's College Gold 8K.