ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's and women's cross country teams head into postseason competition on Saturday with action at the 2024 Patriot League Championship. Hosted by Lafayette College at the Lafayette Cross Country Course in Easton, Pa., the women will be first to the line as their 6K race is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. before the men look to traverse an 8K course at 12:00 p.m. Live results will be provided for both races.
 
11:00 AM – Women's Race
Six-time Patriot League Champions, the Navy women's cross country team will look return to the winner's circle after finishing third last season. 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 eight 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, first in 2021, first in 2022, and third in 2023.
 
Last season, Navy finished third overall at the 2023 Patriot League Cross Country Championship. Ellie Abraham was the top individual for the Midshipmen, crossing the finish line in fifth place with a 6K time of 22:20.3. With her fifth-place finish, Abraham earned First Team All-Patriot League honors. It was the third time in the senior's career that she earned all-conference honors and her second time notching first-team distinction.
 
Caroline Harding finished just out of the top 10, coming in 11th with a time of 22:39.0. Her time earned the senior Second Team All-Patriot League recognition for the first time in her four-year career.
 
Sophomore Sophie Compton was 16th with a time of 22:49.6, while senior McKenna Brophy was one spot back in 17th with a time of 22:53.7. Competing in her first PL Championship, freshman Lillee Tang rounded out Navy's top 5 with a time of 23:19.3 to come in 25th. Juniors Alex Wercinski (23:25.0) and Olivia Lutkevich (23:26.2) were sixth and seventh among the Midshipmen runners.
 
Freshman Sarah Colebrooke (23:30.3), sophomore Kate Leddy (23:43.9), sophomore Samantha Woodworth (24:02.5), junior Katelyn Pepin (24:07.7), and sophomore Mia-Claire Kezal (24:29.2) also competed for the Mids.
 
12:00 PM – Men's Race
Competing in their 21st 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 11 league titles and seven second-place results, along with one third and one fourth-place outcome.
 
Behind a 1-2-3 finish from Murphy Smith, Sam Keeny, and Alexander Kirkland, the Navy men's cross country team won its third consecutive Patriot League Cross Country Championship in 2023. The Midshipmen finished the 8K race with a team-low score of 37 points to win the meet. For the third consecutive season, Lanzel was named Patriot League Coach of the Year.
 
Smith was the individual medalist, clocking a season-best 8K time of 24:27.4. The junior, who was the Rookie of the Meet in 2021, earned Patriot League Runner of the Meet honors with his first-place finish.
 
Keeny, the senior team captain, was second overall with a time of 24:46.3, while Kirkland was third, crossing the finish line at 24:48.5. The trio of Smith, Keeny, and Kirkland were all named First Team All-Patriot League. The accolade marked the third consecutive season that Keeny has earned first-team distinction, while it was the first all-conference honor for both Smith and Kirkland.
 
Jackson Nguyen and Nester finished back-to-back in 15th and 16th, respectively. Nguyen posted a time of 25:22.6, while Nester was half a second back with a time of 25:23.1. Ben Countiss (25:35.6) and Sam Moultrie (25:43.9) rounded out Navy's top seven finishers with a 21st- and 23rd- place finish.
 
Joe Reimann (25:52.8), Carson Sloat (26:18.5), Owen Ahten (26:22.2), and Zack Poekert (27:10.8) also competed for the Midshipmen.
 
Up Next
Following Saturday's championship race, both Navy teams will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, hosted at Penn State on Friday, Nov. 15.