ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Zoie Tesi's school-record performance in the high jump highlighted the Navy track & field teams' first dual meet of the season, Saturday against Princeton at the Wesley A. Brown Field House in Annapolis. The Navy women's team fell to the Tigers, 106-71, and the men's team won the final event of the meet to tie Princeton, 89-89.
"Zoie obviously had an impressive day," Navy Director of Track and Field/Cross Country
Jamie Cook said. "Anytime you set a school record, especially with the history we've had in the high jump, it's impressive. I'm excited for Zoie and Coach
Chris Johnson, they've worked extremely hard.
"We didn't have many event wins today, but it's always good to see where we are. Princeton is a strong team on both the men's and women's sides. We saw some positives in certain areas, and there are others we need to improve. We'll make those adjustments and move forward."
Women's Recap: Princeton 106, Navy 71
Field Events
Tesi etched her name into the history book by setting a school record in the high jump with a clearance of 1.78 meters (5 feet, 10 inches). Tesi surpassed the previous mark of 1.77 meters (5-8.75) set by Hannah Lowenstein in 2023.
Tesi also captured the triple jump for the second-consecutive meet with a leap of 11.89 meters (39-0.25) on her final attempt. Sophia Notaro placed second at 11.36 meters (37-3.25), while Farrah Eike finished third with a mark of 10.54 meters (34-7).
Nalina Smith opened the meet with a second-place finish in the weight throw, recording a toss of 16.40 meters (53-9.75). Jacee Hauser followed with a fourth-place throw of 14.51 meters (47-7.25).
Navy was well represented in the pole vault, led by Olivia Baird's second-place finish after clearing 3.70 meters (12-1.50). Gabrielle Bernhard, Sophia Hill and Aurora Cieslukowski each cleared 3.60 meters (11-9.75), with Bernhard and Hill tying for third after clearing the height on their first attempts.
Track Events
Jia Anderson paced the track events in the 60-meter hurdles with a second-place time of 8.50, the seventh-best mark in program history.
Navy claimed first and second in the 400 meters behind Sophia Richter and Peighton Marrero, respectively. Richter won the event in 55.14, while Marrero followed in 57.95.
In the 500 meters, Julia Blake posted a career-best time of 1:17.06 to place third, edging teammate Jessica Black (1:18.34).
Reilly Nussbaum recorded a career-best time of 2:14.47 in the 800 meters to finish second. Emily Maury placed fourth in 2:15.67 after battling Princeton's Elizabeth Williamson (2:14.93) for third.
Navy's strong showing in the distance events continued in the 1,000 meters as Mia-Claire Kezal finished second in 2:50.61.
Sophie Compton won the 3,000 meters in 9:39.26, nearly four seconds ahead of second-place finisher Anna McNatt (9:43.48).
The Midshipmen placed second in both relay events to close the meet. Navy's 4x400-meter relay team of Richter, Swanda, Marrero and Samaria Williams rallied from an early third-place position to finish in 3:51.02. In the 4x800-meter relay, the team of Blake, Susannah Heinz, Catalina Simon and Kezal posted a time of 9:19.66.
Men's Recap: Navy 89, Princeton 89
Field Events
Navy opened the field events with a sweep of the long jump.
Nick Simmons won with a leap of 7.03 meters (23 feet, 0.75 inches), followed closely by
Wyatt Shaw at 7.02 meters (23-0.50).
William Pierce completed the sweep with a jump of 6.95 meters (22-9.75).
Aaron Spears (17.25 meters/56-7.25) and
Justin Mondesir (16.27 meters/53-4.25) finished second and third, respectively, in the weight throw for the Mids.
Navy claimed the pole vault behind
Brian Schloeder's winning mark of 5.05 meters (16-6.75). Schloeder was the lone competitor to clear five meters in the event.
Adam Bell placed third after clearing 4.85 meters (15-11).
Nigel Vidale and
Jordan Wolverton went one-two in the high jump. Vidale cleared 1.95 meters (6-4.75), while Wolverton followed at 1.90 meters (6-2.75).
The Midshipmen recorded their second field event sweep of the day in the triple jump. Vidale captured his second victory with a jump of 13.48 meters (44-2.75). Gary Choice finished second at 13.39 meters (43-11.25) and
Mason Gibbons placed third with a mark of 13.12 meters (43-0.50).
Track Events
The track events opened with the mile run, where Navy's
Matt Newell led a trio of Midshipmen with a second-place finish in 4:10.00.
Dane Eike followed in third at 4:10.60, while
James Partlow rounded out the group with a time of 4:11.07.
Michael Wilkerson paced Navy in the 60-meter hurdles, placing second in 8.28.
Jason Keiser followed shortly after to finish fourth in 8.30.
In the 400 meters,
Simon Alexander set a personal-best time of 47.68 to secure a second-place finish.
Navy's distance runners continued to impress in the 800 meters as Benjamin Marks raced past Princeton's Tsedeke Jakovics on the final lap to win his first collegiate event in 1:53.67.
Tate Frost (1:53.89) and Ryan Du Plessis (1:54.32) also surged late to place second and third, respectively.
Caleb Price earned his first collegiate victory in his debut in the 1,000 meters. Price moved from third to first at the 800-meter mark to win in 2:28.34, edging teammate
Justin Hom who clocked a 2:28.35. Nicholas Hamby finished third in 2:28.95.
Conor McFadden placed third in the second heat and third overall in the 200 meters with a time of 21.36.
Justin Mumford won the 3,000 meters after moving into the lead at the 2,000-meter mark, finishing in 8:06.32.
Luke Bowlsby placed third in 8:08.43, narrowly edged out for second by Princeton's Brian Boler (8:08.38).
The Midshipmen and Tigers entered the final two events tied at 81-81. Princeton bested Navy by eight-hundredths of a second in the 4x400-meter relay, winning 3:14.80 to 3:14.88.
Navy rebounded in the 4x800-meter relay, winning by more than 20 seconds. The team of Price, Partlow,
David Walker, Marks and Eike cruised to a time of 7:49.98 to secure the tie in the dual meet.
Up Next
The Mids will host their third-straight home meet next week with the two-day Wesley A. Brown Invitational on Jan. 16–17 at the Wesley A. Brown Field House. The multi events begin on Friday at 4 p.m. and conclude Saturday. All other events will be held Saturday, with field events starting at 9:30 a.m. and track events beginning at noon.
