COLUMBIA, Mo. – Navy men's cross country student-athlete Justin Mumford finished 164th among the 259 runners who finished the 10K race in the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championship at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo. The senior clocked a time of 30:05.1 in the final race of the season.
 
"We shot for the moon a little to target a top 40," head coach Aaron Lanzel said after the race. "He hit the first four-kilometer marks right on target and then had to pay the price. But this is the race to throw caution to the wind. There was never any talk of wishing we did something different. Justin could have been conservative and ran a race to be top 100, but why not go for it.
 
"For Justin to make the national final is a tremendous accomplishment considering where he was returning from injury over the summer. A great season and senior campaign, he heads on to track as a champion in the fall."
 
Mumford started the race in 98th through the first 1,000m checkpoint with a time 2:47.1. Three minutes later (5:43.5), he moved up nine spots to 89th through the 2K marker. At 3K, Mumford had moved up another 33 spots to 56th with 8:42.0 of time elapsed. The senior dropped back to 64th through 4,000m. At the midway point, Mumford had a time of 14:35.7. He dipped to 129 through 7,000m, and at the 8K marker, Mumford had a time of 23:54.8. In the final 2,000m Mumford slipped to 164th overall, clocking a 10K time of 30:05.1.
 
A week earlier, Mumford qualified for the NCAA Championship with a third-place finish at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship. Hosted by Lehigh University and run over the 10K Goodman Campus Cross Country Course, Mumford's third-place finish tied Murphy Smith's performance during the 2023 season as the highest by a Navy individual since Jake Brophy ('20) finished second at the 2019 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional as a senior. For his efforts, Mumford was named All-Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
 
Individually, New Mexico's Habtom Samuel won the race with a time of 28:33.9, while Wake Forest's Rocky Hansen (28:38.0) took second. Washington State's Solomon Kipchoge (28:40.1), along with Oklahoma State's Brian Musau (28:41.2) and Fouad Messaoudi (28:42.8) all posted top-five performances.
 
#1 Oklahoma State won the team title with a low score of 57, while #3 New Mexico was second with a combined tally of 82. #2 Iowa State finished third with 158 points, while #4 Syracuse (212) and #6 Oregon (239) rounded out the top five team scores.