UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Navy women's cross country team concluded its 2024 season with a stellar performance at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship on Friday afternoon. Racing on the 6K Blue and White Cross Country Course at Penn State, the Mids posted an eighth-place overall finish among the 30 teams competing. Senior Alex Wercinski led the Mids' effort as she crossed the finish line with a time of 20:51.4 to finish 33rd amid the 214 competitors that finished the race.
 
Behind individual medalist Ceili McCabe, No. 5 West Virginia claimed the team title with a score of 41 points, while No. 8 Georgetown was second overall with a collective score of 58 to claim the two automatic qualifying spots in the NCAA Championship. Meet host and 20th-ranked Penn State took third with 85 points with (RV) Princeton (99) and (RV) Villanova (108) rounding out the top five. Pitt (258) and Penn (265) finished in order ahead of Navy who took eighth with 299 points. Maryland (301) and La Salle (318) closed out the top 10 of the 6K race.
 
Navy's top-10 finish was the best among Patriot League teams that participated in the race – Bucknell (11th), Lehigh (14th), Lafayette (25th), American (27th), and Loyola (28th).
 
The Midshipmen opened the race in ninth place through the first checkpoint at the 1200m mark. Navy moved into seventh place just past the halfway point through 3100m. At the 4800m marker, the Mids were in eighth place and were able to maintain their position through the final 1200m of the 6K race.
 
As a team, the Mids' top five averaged a time of 21:21.1 with just under a minute (59.4 seconds) separating their top five finishers.
 
Wercinski was once again the Midshipmen's top finisher. The senior was Navy's top performer in all six competitions she competed in during the 2024 season. She clocked a time of 20:51.4, which was 1.3 second shy of her season-best time of 20:50.1, which she set at the Patriot League Championships earlier this month.
 
Fellow senior and team captain Olivia Lutkevich was second among Navy runners with a 55th-place finish with a time of 21:16.4. Junior Sophie Compton was three places back with a time of 21:21.4, while sophomore Lillee Tang clocked a time of 21:28.1. Junior Kate Leddy rounded out the top five for the Midshipmen with a time of 21:49.5. Junior Mia-Claire Kezal and senior May McConkey closed out the scoring for the Mids with times of 22:00.4 and 22:10.6, respectively.
 
The Midshipmen will now turn their attention to the track and field season with the first indoor meet of the 2024-25 season – the Navy Indoor Invitational – taking place at Wesley A. Brown Field House on Saturday, Dec. 7.
 
Navy Top 7
33. Alex Wercinski – 20:51.4
55. Olivia Lutkevich – 21:16.4
58. Sophie Compton – 21:21.4
66. Lillee Tang – 21:28.1
87. Kate Leddy – 21:49.5
99. Mia-Claire Kezal – 22:00.4
110. May McConkey – 22:10.6   4:23.2