COLUMBIA, Mo. – In a stacked field that consisted of 24 teams that were ranked or receiving votes in the national poll, the Navy men's cross country team completed competition in the Men's 8K Gold race at the seventh-annual Gans Creek Classic at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Mo.
Justin Mumford clocked a time of 23:27.7 to lead the Midshipmen on the day.
"We didn't come looking for any consolation prizes, just as difficult of a test possible for our runners," head coach
Aaron Lanzel said after the race. "We added some difficulty to the day making it their first race of the season. It may still be positive for the team come October / November, but it was a lukewarm performance this morning."
Navy finished 28th among the 31 teams that competed. Top-ranked Iowa State won the event with a team-low score of 47. #6 Virginia was second with 107 points with #13 Colorado (126), #11 Alabama (193) and #4 BYU (199) rounding out the top five. #12 Syracuse (229), #15 Butler (237), #14 NAU (239), #9 Wake Forest (311), and #27 Michigan State closed out the top 10.
"Other than the National Championship race, this is the most competitive race that exists this year," Lanzel added. "A few missteps were very unforgiving and it leaves each man with hunger pains to find the slight adjustments that can unlock fulfilling races to come.
"Justin did run well today, but there is still much more to be had. Our captain, Jackson, will have to wait for another race to see what he can do, having to step off today getting stripped of his shoe. We came for the hits to harden the team, increase the pain tolerance, and we got that."
Mumford, who was competing in his first meet of the season, led the Midshipmen with a time of 23:27.7 to finish 58th among the 237 runners who finished the race.
#18 Washington State's Solomon Kipchoge was the individual medalist with a time of 22:24.7, while #1 Iowa State's Joash Ruto was second with a time of 22:32.0. Bernard Cheruiyot (22:32.4) of #23 Tulane was third, while Dismus Lokira (22:44.1) of #11 Alabama and Dominic Serem (22:45.2) of #13 Colorado finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Max Girardet was second among the Navy runners with a time of 24:11.5, while
Matt Newell clocked a time of 24:18.1 to finish third on the team.
Logan Flament crossed the finish line with a time of 24:21.7 with
Patrick Gandini following with a time of 24:23.3.
Dane Eike (24:35.8) and
James Partlow (24:38.1) closed out the seven counters for the Mids.
In the Men's 8K Black race, the Midshipmen had four runners –
Owen Ahten,
Trevor Hayes,
Billy Driscoll, and
Luke Bowlsby – compete. Ahten was the top finisher amongst the Navy runners with a time of 24:52.7. He was followed by Hayes (25:03.6), Driscoll (25:05.6), and Bowlsby (25:18.5).
Up next, the Midshipmen returns to action on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Paul Short Run in Bethlehem, Pa. Competition for the Mids begins with the men's open race at 9:30 a.m. with the women's open race starting at 10:15 a.m. The men's collegiate race is slated for 11:00 a.m. with the women to follow at 11:45 a.m.
