ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A pair of top-10 program marks highlighted the Navy track and field teams' performance as they opened the 2025-26 season at the Navy Indoor Invitational on Saturday at Wesley A. Brown Field House. The Mids played host to a competitive field that included Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, Mount St. Mary's and William & Mary's.
 
"This is a good meet to use as a reference point to see how fall training went," Navy Director of Track & Field Jamie Cook said. "We did some good things across the board. There are still some areas that need improvement, but the team morale is high and everyone knows what to do going into the break before we start again in January. I was pleasantly surprised with how some of the young athletes performed and I know there's a lot more in the tank. We have young leaders doing good things and I'm excited to see their progress in the months to come."
 
Track Events
Conor McFadden was Navy's top finisher in the 60m sprint, placing second with a time of 6.84 to tie the 10th-fastest mark in program history.
 
"Conor did a good job this fall," Cook said. "He also ran the 4x400, which is good for him to get some strength work in."
 
Freshmen Ben Marks and Madelyn Berry led the Mids in the mile with Marks placing third in 4:14.46 and Berry finishing fifth in 5:13.92.
 
Navy dominated the men's 60 hurdles as it advanced seven athletes to the finals. Freshman Jason Keiser won the event in 8.17, while Michael Wilkerson (8.34) and Bobby Wind (8.38) followed second and third, respectively.

On the women's side, team captain Jia Anderson (8.69) and Caroline Rey (9.00) reached the finals in the 60m hurdles. Anderson clocked in at 8.75 to edge Maryland's Ogechi Uzoukwu (8.87) for the win, while Rey finished third in 8.89.
 
Sophia Richter led wire to wire in the 400m with a winning time of 56.57, while Josephine Zink finished fourth in 59.67. David Walker placed second in the men's 400m with a career-best 49.05.
 
Freshman Ayden Henley won the 500m in 1:05.27 as he beat out teammate Mason Wokoma (1:06.81). Ethan Mullinix completed the sweep with a third-place time of 1:06.96. In the women's race, Jessica Black (1:16.30) and Milana Breuninger (1:16.85) placed second and third, respectively.
 
The Mids produced a strong showing in the 800m, led by the women's duo of Julia Blake and Reilly Nussbaum. Blake earned her first-career win in 2:14.52, while Nussbaum followed in 2:15.11. Nick Hamby led the men's team with a second-place finish in 1:54.51.
 
Navy claimed a thriller in the men's 1,000m as Aidan Eberhardt (2:25.53) bested Maryland's Joe Garzio (2:25.55) by two-hundredths of a second.
 
Shane Conroy cruised to a win in the 3,000, finishing in 8:30.26.
 
The 4x400m relay capped the meet with the men's squad of Walker, Simon Alexander, McFadden and Ayden Henley clocking the event's top time of 3:16.07. The women's quartet of Richter, Savannah Swanda, Peighton Marrero and Chichi Obasi placed second in 3:52.34.
 
Field Events
Zoie Tesi opened the season with the third-best high jump mark in program history at 1.74m (5' 8.5") to win the event. She attempted to tie the school record of 1.77m, but was unable to convert. Tesi also won the triple jump for the first time in her career with a leap of 11.81m (38' 9").
 
"Zoie is always consistent," Cook said. "She had good attempts at the school record in the high jump, then went on to win the triple jump."
 
Aaron Spears and Merrick Hocking led the men's weight throw as they placed second and third, respectively. Spears recorded a personal-best throw of 17.97m (58' 11.5") and Hocking posted 17.49m (57' 4.75") in his collegiate debut.
 
Sheldon Ulmer cleared the seven-foot high jump barrier for the first time in his career to win the event with a mark of 2.14m (7' 0.25"). Wyatt Shaw placed third with a jump of 2.01m (6' 7").
 
Adam Bell won the pole vault at 4.90m (16' 0.75"), followed by Cooper Wakley and Brian Schloeder, who tied for third at 4.80m (15' 9"). Gracie Emerick led the women with a third-place finish at 3.75m (12' 3.5").
 
Navy swept the men's long jump highlighted by William Pierce's winning jump of 7.24m (23' 9"). Shaw took second with a 7.08m (23' 2.75") mark for his second top-three finish of the day and Nick Simmons placed third at 7.05m (23' 1.75").
 
Freshmen Hunter-Robbins Mann and Hayden Overgaard impressed in the shot put. Mann finished second with a throw of 15.72m (51' 7") and Overgaard placed third at 15.38m (50' 5.5"). On the women's side, Nalina Smith finished third with a toss of 12.91m (42' 4.25").
 
Gary Choice III closed out the field events with a third-place finish in the triple jump at 14.09m (46-2.75).
 
Up Next
Navy returns to action after the new year when it plays host to Princeton for its first dual meet of the season on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Wesley A. Brown Field House.