ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's cross country team swept the top five spots and placed eight runners in the top 10 to roll to a victory in the Navy Invitational on Saturday morning at the USNA Cross Country Course. The Midshipmen tallied a team-low 15 points en route to the victory in the 4.9-mile race.
Additionally, the Midshipmen had several runners in the Open 5K with Navy claiming six of the top 10 spots, including
Owen Ahten who was the individual winner.
"I'm very pleased with both races today," head coach
Aaron Lanzel said. "Our 5k runners were wise early in the race and got some good experience in a college race on our course. Owen [Ahten] ran an even effort through the middle and made it tough on the field."
"In the varsity race Sam [Keeny] with our top 5 were able to stay in control as the temperatures soared," Lanzel continued. "They decided when they wanted to leave the rest of the pack and showed they are well prepared for the season ahead."
Murphy Smith and
Alexander Kirkland tied with a time of 25:04.30 to claim first- and second-place points. Team captain
Sam Keeny (25:04.31) was a hundredth of a second back to take third, while
Jackson Nguyen (25:04.40) was a tenth of a second back of the pack to claim fourth.
Justin Mumford completed the sweep, taking fifth place with a time of 25:08.81.
Ben Countiss (25:15.12) and Matthew Newell (25:17.37) rounded out Navy's top 7 with seventh- and ninth-place finishes, respectively.
Luke Nester (25:20.11) gave the Mids' eight runners in the top 10 with a 10th-place finish.
Six of the final 10 runners for the Midshipmen finished in the top 25.
Carson Sloat (25:26.78) came in 14th, while
Sam Moultrie (25:33.94) and
Joe Reimann (25:44.65) finished back-to-back in 16th and 17th.
Sean Miller (25:57.45) crossed the line in 20th, with
Griffin House (26:15.05) and
Nico Valdivieso (26:25.18) taking 24th and 25th, respectively.
Evan Prince (26:43.57 – 32nd),
Robbie Naberhaus (27:03.21 – 41st),
Garrett Baublitz (27:09.63 – 42nd), and
Jack Lange (27:57.64 – 56th) rounded out the runners for Navy.
The Midshipmen will have a short break before returning to action at the Panorama Farms Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 23. The meet is hosted by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va.
