ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy cross country teams head to University Park, Pa. for the annual Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational hosted by Penn State on Friday morning on the Penn State Golf Courses. The women's collegiate 6K is set to begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the men's 5.2-mile at 10:45 a.m.
 
Live results will be available from PTTiming.
 
Parking on competition day will be reserved strictly for teams and officials. All spectators must pay-to-park.
 
Meet Participants
Navy, Penn State, Army, Bucknell, Buffalo, Columbia, Duquesne, Georgetown (men only), Lehigh, Lock Haven, Loyola, Maryland, Missouri, Monmouth, Penn, Pitt, Princeton (women only), St. Joseph's, Syracuse, Temple, UConn, UMBC, and West Virginia (women only)
 
The Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational
The annual Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational event is named after long-time Nittany Lion men's track and field and cross-country coach Harry Groves. Groves spent nearly forty years at the helm of the men's program, beginning in 1968 until retiring at the conclusion of the 2006 track and field season. Groves is a 2001 USTCA Hall of Fame inductee, was named national Coach of the Year on five occasions and is a 26-time Regional Coach of the Year honoree. The Invitational is hosted each fall and features high school and collegiate races.
 
Gandini Tabbed Patriot League Rookie of the Week
The Patriot League announced its weekly cross country awards and Navy freshman Patrick Gandini was recognized as the conference's Rookie of the Week for his performance last weekend at the Cantello Invitational. Gandini finished seventh overall and was part of a pack of five Midshipmen that all finished in the top eight as Navy cruised to a win at the Cantello Invitational. The rookie was Navy's top freshman, finishing fourth on the team behind a trio of upperclassmen – junior Justin Mumford (second overall), senior Nico Valdivieso (fifth), and senior Carson Sloat (sixth). Gandini clocked a time of 25:00.5 in his first collegiate meet, averaging a time of 3:06.5 per 1K.
 
Last Time Out (WOMEN):
Navy posted a third-place finish at the Cantello Invitational at the USNA Cross Country Course in Annapolis, Md. Katelyn Pepin and Samantha Woodworth led the Midshipmen in the 6K race, crossing the finish line in 13th and 14th, respectively, among the 78 runners who finished the race. Pepin crossed the finish with a time of 23:11.4, while Woodworth was a step behind with a time of 23:13.3. The duo was 20th and 21st just before the midway point of the race, but were able to each improve seven spots in the final stages of the 6K race.
 
Competing in her first collegiate cross country meet, May McConkey finished third amongst the Mids and 19th overall with a time of 23:23.0. Lexi Ensor clocked a time of 23:30.4 to take 21st, while Julia Blake rounded out the top five for the Mids with a time of 24:03.5 to close out the meet in 29th. Charlotte Hill (24:12.4) and Susanna Henderson (24:16.0) were the final counters for the Midshipmen, coming in 30th and 32nd, respectively.
 
Last Time Out (MEN):
Justin Mumford finished second overall to lead a pack of five Midshipmen that finished in the top eight as Navy cruised to a win in the men's college 4.9-mile race at the Cantello Invitational. Navy posted a team score of 28 to win the meet, finishing 25 points ahead of George Washington who closed the day with a team score of 53 to take second.
 
Mumford clocked a time of 24:35.85 to finish second overall. He was joined in the top eight by four teammates – Nico Valdivieso, Carson Sloat, Patrick Gandini, and Matthew Newell. Valdivieso posted a time of 24:52.7 to take fifth place, while Sloat was one spot back in sixth with a time of 24:58.7. Gandini was seventh overall with a time of 25:00.5 with Newell taking eighth with time of 25:02.2. Dane Eike finished just outside of the top 10 with an 11th-place performance after a time of 25:10.1. Owen Ahten rounded out Navy's top seven with a time of 25:14.9 to take 14th overall.
 
Up Next
The Midshipmen head to the Land of 10,000 Lakes as Navy takes part in the 38th Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota at the Les Bolstad Golf Course in Minneapolis, Minn.