ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's and women's cross country teams return to action Saturday morning as the Midshipmen host the Cantello Invitational at the USNA Cross Country Course in Annapolis. The women's 6K begins at 9:45 a.m. with the men's 4.9-mile run at 10:30 a.m. In addition, there will be an open 5K at 9:00 a.m. with an alumni "Bertha" mile following at 11:00 a.m.
 
Live results will be available from M&D Timing.
 
Meet Participants
Navy, Catholic, Davis & Elkins, Frostburg State, George Mason (men only), George Washington, Georgetown (women only), Hampton, McDaniel (men only), Millersville (women only), Stevenson, and UMBC
 
Cantello Invitational
The Cantello Invitational – formerly the Navy Invitational – was named in honor of legendary Navy coach Al Cantello who passed away on January 17, 2024. (VIDEO: Al Cantello: Enduring Legacy)
 
"Al went to great lengths to develop and establish this meet and the Navy Cross Country program," current Navy men's cross country head coach Aaron Lanzel said of his former coach. "The course is memorable for any competitor who has run on it. There are over half a century of recorded records and top performances to compare to on this tough terrain. The Invitational is memorable for Navy runners from all generations who tested their early season preparation to figure out who was ready to be a true varsity athlete under the keen eye of Coach Cantello. But, the most memorable aspect is Al Cantello himself, and the many stories, enduring legacy, and lasting effects he had on the sport and Navy Athletics. The event can now inspire the sharing of endless stories in honor of Coach Cantello, something that is extraordinarily deserved."
 
Cantello was a standout member of the La Salle track & field team from 1951-55, where was a two-time All-American in the javelin. Cantello, who served in the Marine Corps for 10 years, was a world-class competitor in the javelin throw who once held every national and international record in the event.
 
Cantello later accepted a coaching position at the Naval Academy in 1968, marking the beginning of his coaching legacy. Cantello, who retired from coaching on August 30, 2018, served as Navy's head cross country coach for 50 years. During his time working with Midshipmen athletes, Cantello collected a combined 49 N-Star victories over Army as the head coach of cross country and track & field programs.
 
Competing at the Heptagonal Championships through 2002, Navy finished in the top three on 21 occasions, including every year from 1978-86 with outright titles in 1974, 1992, and 1996. After joining the Patriot League in 2003, Cantello and the Mids asserted their dominance on their new conference mates with four second-place finishes over the first-five years before running off eight Patriot League Championships in nine years from 2008 through 2016.
 
The program's success at the conference level carried over to the national scene with 12 total appearances at the NCAA Championships. Following the program's first NCAA appearance in 1972, the Mids competed in 11 more championships (1974, '75, '76, '84, '85, '88, '89, '92, '97, '16, '17). The 1985 and 1992 teams recorded the highest finish for a Midshipmen squad, as they both placed seventh overall.
 
Aside from Navy's postseason accolades, Cantello made sure the Mids were nearly always in line to check the Army-Navy Star box. Victorious at a 76.5 percent clip, Cantello led the Mids to 37 wins over the Black Knights in his 50 years in charge. The program's most successful run came between 1973 and 1986 when the team won 13 straight head-to-head contests versus its service academy rival.
 
Navy runners found a host of success with Cantello's guidance as 10 student-athletes earned All-America status in cross country and/or distance track events. Five of those Mids were multi-time All-Americans: Ronnie Harris (1985 – XC, 1987 – 3K and 5K); Greg Keller (1992 – Mile & Steeplechase, 1992 – XC, 1993- Mile & Steeplechase); Todd Washburn (1993 - Indoor 5K, 1993 - Outdoor 5K), Jon Clemens (1997 – Indoor 5K, 1997 – Outdoor 3K & Steeplechase) and John Mentzer (1997 – Indoor 5K, 1997 – Outdoor 10K, 1998 – Outdoor 10).
 
Additionally, Harris (1988, '92, '96) and Mentzer (2008) were two of the six Midshipmen to have competed at the United States Olympic Track & Field Trials under the direction of Cantello. James Dare (1968, '72), Mark Newman (1996, '00, '04), Aaron Lanzel (2004) and Erik Schmidt (2004) make up the complete list of Cantello's Midshipmen distance athletes to have competed for the right to wear the Red, White and Blue in Olympic competition. Dare qualified for Team USA as an alternate in 1972, while Harris qualified for the team in 1996.
 
As a result of his teams' success, Cantello was recognized as the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Cross Country Coach of the Year four times (1984, '85, '92, '16), NCAA Mid-Atlantic Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year in 2010 and Patriot League Coach of the Year eight times (2008, '09, '10, '11, '13, '14, '15, '16). In December of 2013, he was inducted into the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame.
 
Dastrup Earns Rookie of the Week Accolades
The Patriot League announced its weekly award winners for cross country on Tuesday morning and Navy freshman Daisy Dastrup was named the Rookie of the Week for her performance in the Salisbury Fall Classic over the weekend.
 
In her first collegiate meet, Dastrup paced the Navy women's cross country team, finishing first among the Midshipmen distance runners at the Salisbury Fall Classic at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md. The freshman clocked a 6K time of 21:38.2 to finish eighth overall and help the Midshipmen to a fourth-place overall finish as a team.
 
Dastrup held a pace of 3:36/K throughout the race and finished 1:16.0 back of the individual medalist, sophomore Rose Coats of Maryland, who clocked a winning time of 20:22.3. The rookie was two seconds back of seventh place.
 
Last Time Out (WOMEN):
The Navy women's cross country team opened up the 2024 campaign with a fourth-place finish at the Salisbury Fall Classic at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md. Freshman Daisy Dastrup led the charge for the Midshipmen in the 6K race, finishing her first collegiate competition in eighth-place overall.
 
Led by five freshmen and a pair of sophomores, Navy finished fourth overall, tallying 87 points on the day. Maryland posted a team-low tally of 24 points to win the event. Johns Hopkins was second with 53 points, while Seton Hall was third with 85 points. Meet-host Salisbury (129 points) rounded out the top five.
 
Dastrup posted a time of 21:38.2 in her first collegiate meet to finish eighth overall. The rookie was two seconds back of seventh place and just a minute and 16 seconds back of the individual medalist Rose Coats of Maryland, who clocked a winning time of 20:22.3.
 
Fellow freshman Madeline Palmisciano finished second among the Midshipmen and 14th overall with a time of 21:55.4. Freshmen Paige Sheiffele and Jane Phillips clocked times of 22:03.6 and 22:09.6 to finish 19th and 20th, respectively. Sophomore Reilly Nussbaum closed out Navy's scoring with a time of 22:20.5 to finish 26th overall. Freshman Julia Blake (22:43.8) and sophomore Susannah Heinz (23:04.1) rounded out Navy's top seven in the meet.
 
Last Time Out (MEN):
The Navy men's team tallied 86 points as a team to finish third at the Salisbury Fall Classic at Winter Place Park in Salisbury, Md. The Midshipmen's top five performers all tallied top 25 performances in the 8K race, led by sophomore Aidan Eberhardt wo finished in 12th.
 
Johns Hopkins swept the top five spots to post a team-low score of 15 to win the meet, while Seton Hall was second with 67 points. Navy followed with 86 ahead of meet host Salisbury, who finished with a team score of 98.
 
Eberhardt led the Midshipmen with a time of 25:58.9 to finish 12th, while fellow sophomore Caden Ryskoski crossed the finish line with a time of 26:09.2 to take 14th. Freshman Billy Driscoll clocked a time of 26:21.3 in his first collegiate meet to claim 19th-place points. One spot back of Driscoll was fellow freshman Jonathan Skemp who notched a time of 26:22.0 in the 8K race. Sophomore Tate Frost posted a time of 26:33.9 for 21st to close out the scoring for the Midshipmen.
 
Freshman Ben Tucker and sophomore Chris Seegobin rounded out Navy's top seven runners. Tucker notched a time of 26:35.6, while Seegobin finished in 26:37.7.